Gentle on the Planet
The Beka Family of owners and employees is proud to produce and offer environmentally friendly, domestic products (yes - MADE in Minnesota, USA - not warehoused in the USA or distributed in the USA, but actually MADE IN THE USA!). In a world confronted by a host of environmental issues - concerns about fossil fuel, global warming and climate change, the availability of clean water, etc – we are committed to being responsible citizens of the planet. (Did we say "made in the USA" clearly enough.....)
Our primary manufacturing material is northern hard maple, a regionally grown and carefully harvested hard wood. As woodworkers, we love hard maple. From an environmental standpoint, hard maple has the advantage of being harvested tree by tree, as opposed to being logged in large sections. The typical process involves a trained forester walking the woods and identifying specific trees to remove, leaving space for younger trees to mature. The result may be a more expensive harvesting process, but the end result is well worth it, as the future of the species is protected.
In terms of use, we work hard to minimize waste. When we end up with maple strips too narrow for easel legs, we make them into puppet theater parts; strips too narrow for theaters become loom parts; and pieces too small for anything become fuel for local fish houses and a handful of area homes. Local residents visit us regularly, looking for wood scraps they can take home for their fireplaces. Remember, we’re in Minnesota.
By using regionally grown material, we avoid needing to use fuel to transport wood to our shop. As the distributor of our own products, we ship directly from our combined shop/warehouse facility to stores and homes across the country. We are able to avoid the environmental impact of ocean shipping, as well as extra truck or train trips required to move products produced by much larger companies to distributions centers, from which they’ll be shipped yet again. The “life experience” of a Beka product usually includes just one trip on a fuel-consuming vehicle, again minimizing our impact on the planet.
Gentle on Children
You expect children’s products to be safe….protecting your children and their friends from unnecessary risks. We take special precautions to insure our products are designed to be safe and reliable over time. In the design stage, we watch for potential pinch points and keep individual components large enough to avoid swallowing hazards, following guidelines established by people a lot smarter than us. We then choose reliably stable material, produce and inspect each individual component, and apply our personal high standards for safety and aesthetics to every part of every product we produce.
Beka products tend toward the natural, with few items including any painted parts. Parts that are painted or oiled are coated in the United States, where paints and finishing oils adhere to Consumer Product Safety guidelines. Plastic parts used are also produced in the United States, again adhering to US safety guidelines. We have always stayed away from lots of bells and whistles, both figuratively and literally.
Our own children and grandchildren (and best friends, as shown above - Jamie holding Harper and Atticus) use Beka toys and furniture on a regular basis. Our line of Creative Play products is as safe as any you’ll find. We hope the children in your life enjoy exploring their creativity with Beka products.
Thank you for your confidence and your support!
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