Boon Odd Duck

I bought Odd Duck Jane a couple of months back, she was the extra $5 I needed to spend to get free shipping on an order, and I was intrigued by the idea of a bath duck that didn't contain PVC. It seems almost all bath toys 'rubber' ducks especially are made of PVC. So, while most of our bath toys are unconventional, we do have the obligatory vinyl ducks made by the untrustworthy company Schylling. When my daughter developed a strong attachment to our scary vinyl ducks and wanted to carry them all over the house, I figured it was time to pull Jane out and give her a try.

She was an immediate hit: My daughter passed off all the old yellow ducks in favor of this brightly-colored, excitingly decorated alternative, and she's been carrying Jane around the house for days now. She's also been for a few swims in the bath without the leakage problem others have spoken of, so I guess we got lucky on that count. Jane measures about 4" long, has a weighted bottom so she will float nicely in water, and is even able upright herself if she is knocked over. Which is pretty cool; you'll never find her doing that dead-duck-on-her-side thing. She has a rigid non-pliable head and beak, and her body is somewhat squishy, though less so than a traditional PVC duck.

I noticed, on first opening the packaging Jane came in, an odd smell. Sort of like an uncapped Sharpie, and I immediately flipped her over to look for the recycling code. Nothing. No details on what plastic she's made of on the packaging either. Luckily the smell faded, and I who am extremely sensitive to smells can no longer detect it. Consider that I'm paranoid, so that's actually a point in this toy's favor.

I did, however, want to know what kind of plastic they made this toy out of since it is phthalate-free and PVC-free, so I asked.

Boon ducks are made of Styrene Ethylene Butadiene Styrene (SEBS), a subtype of synthetic rubber that was created by the Shell Oil Company in the 1960's and is marketed under the trade name Kraton-G (there's actually a Wikipedia article on this). It's used in everything from tires to medical devices and gloves, and of course increasingly in toys as a PVC alternative. Its main benefit, of course, being that it is pliable but does not require the use of the dangerous plasticizers that are used in the manufacture of soft PVC. It is known to have a strong odor, as I can attest, but Greenpeace in a 1996 article stated it was a viable and safer alternative to PVC. It does seem to be a safer alternative so far as we know at this time though I'm surprised how little real data exists on it, whereas you can find a wealth of information on many more commonly-used plastics. The Material Data Safety sheet documents this plastic as a low hazard in all areas.

While I don't think it's wise to trust a company (particularly one with China manufacturing Odd Ducks *are* made in China, like most things) just because they say that a product is minus known toxins (not all alternative plastics are created equal), in this case the alternative seems to be an improvement over the current standard.

The duck herself is sweet, and I'm glad to have a potentially less toxic option available, as bath duckies seem like one of those 'must-have' toys for little kids. I can certainly see collecting the others in the future, and would based on all current information available recommend these ducks to anyone wanting a safer bath toy for their children.

**UPDATE**:

We now own all the ducks (my youngest has taken a particular liking to them), and so I thought it would be worthwhile to comment on a few things.

1. The best floaters are Jane (pink) and Slim (blue). These ducks will always right themselves if tipped, and thus never float on their backs. Bob(orange) tends to float with his bill in the air, at a slight backward angle, and Squish (yellow) floats with his bill toward the water, at a slight forward angle. Both Bob and Squish can be upended, but Bob will most often right himself. With Squish it takes a bit more activity to upend him, but once he tips over, he's a back-floater.

2. The first Bob we ordered had completely separated from the weighted disk on his base during shipping. I'm confused, however, as to how some people's ducks filled with water underneath, as Bob's underside is still sealed. Nonetheless, Bob only floats on his back when he is minus-the-disk, so we wrote Boon and sent them a photo of our defective Bob (after all, my three-year old had actually done chores to earn money for Bob, and he's not cheap for a little duck). Boon's response was prompt, friendly, apologetic -and three days later a new duck arrived on our doorstep. So anyone who hesitates on the premise they might get a faulty duck? Fear not. Document it, and send it to Boon. This is one company who will stand by their products -and that is worth the extra money. Unlike a company(ex. Schylling) who I emailed about a defective product two months ago and *never* received a response from.

Bob has been a great tub toy for my soon-to-be 10 month-old. He "paddles" very smoothly and swiftly in the water, is fun to watch while twirling with the funky orange lines, and my son loves holding him down in the water and watching him pop up to the surface. Bob also gets chewed on quite a bit since my son's teething, so I like the fact that he's free of BPA, phthalates, PVC. We haven't had any issues with smell, or water getting in Bob. Definitely a good buy, and we'll be adding another Odd Duck to the menagerie of bath toys at birthday time!

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Though cute, this duck had a strong, persistant smell to it and immediately filled with water that we could not get out yucky ducky!

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I bought this duck, because I wanted something non toxic for my child. We have the yellow one. The looks are good, however the bottom is not a solid surface; the center part is not glued suficiently on the sides, alowing water in. Before using it I put some silicone in the crack to seal it, so will see, how it will work for us. The duck doesn't float straight. The head is half sank in water very poor design.

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I was looking forward to the Boon Odd Duck, but now realize it's packaging has to improve. While it uses a clamshell design, the bottom of the duck was exposed to the elements. Mine arrived dirtied, damaged & the bottom orange circular plastic was about to fall off. My kid's prying fingers would have just finished the job and pulled that part off the main body of the duck with ease. Why they designed it in this way for a rubber toy is beyond me. Plus the orange circular plastic was just held together with what appears to be glue.

Furthermore the duck appeared discolored & 'used'. I am very disappointed with this product.