The ultimate eco toy? A dolls' house with solar panels and wind turbine

A dolls' house, designed to educate children about global warming, is expected to be one of the best selling presents this Christmas, a department store has predicted.

By Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs EditorPublished: 5:18PM BST 14 Sep 2009

The eco-friendly dolls house is expected to be the next big toy this Christmas Photo: Selfridges
The dolls' house is equipped with all the latest eco-friendly devices, including solar panels, a wind turbine, recycling bins and a rain water butt. The dolls can even lounge on a sofa made from recycled chipboard.
The toy is on sale at Selfridges for £149.99 and has been manufactured by Plan Toys, a Thai company that makes all of its products using sustainable wood, lead-free paint and in factories powered by biomass energy.

Michael Berry, Selfridges’ toy shop buyer said: “This house is a wonderfully educational toy that will really inspire kids and through play help them to become more aware about the environment around them. We expect the Green Dollhouse to be a huge hit with parents this Christmas and we are already starting to take orders in our new toy department.”
The dollhouse’s energy efficient design also includes an electric inverter for generating electricity, a biofacade, which uses the natural cycle of plant growth to provide shading, and a blind that can adjust the amount of sun light and air circulation.
Dolls' houses, now considered a very traditional toy, have sometimes been used to show case the latest house building technology and interior design. The most famous of these was Queen Mary's Dolls' House, completed in 1924 for the wife of George V.
Designed by Sir Ediwn Lutyens, it was fitted out with working electrical lights, lifts, flushable lavatories, displaying the best design the British Empire's leading manufacturers could muster.