Eco-Friendly Highchairs - Part III

If you need to catch up, read Eco-Friendly Highchairs, the first post and Great Customer Service from AnkaBabyStore, the second post. When we got our second high chair, it was immediately clear that the box had been pretty damaged during shipping. After we opened it, we found both shipping damage and the same defect as the first chair, but this time it was worse. The chair was also the wrong finish, so even if it had been in perfect condition, we would have sent it back. Take a look:



Since it was past business hours on a Friday when we received it, we had to wait until Monday to call AnkaBabyStore. They were very helpful and apologetic again. I spoke with a manager who promised that they'd ship a new chair the next day and that they would open it before they shipped it to ensure it didn't have the same issue. Well, I guess the third time's a charm! When we received the third chair, it had a couple of fragile stickers placed prominently on the box, which seemed to have helped because the box was in much better condition. The chair was the right color and had no damage, shipping or otherwise.

The verdict: We love it! Eliot is very comfortable in the chair and likes to sit in it and play. It was really easy to put together and it's easy to adjust the settings to fit your child perfectly. The tray cover washes nicely in the dishwasher or sink and is easy to take on and off. The chair pad can be thrown in the washing machine when dirty and washes well. Getting the theme, here? Easy Peazy. Also, feeding him has become much, much easier for us. Plus, the chair looks fantastic and doesn't take up a ton of space in our house! Take a look:




So, after all that, I would definitely purchase additional products from AnkaBabyStore. Their customer service was fantastic and they took care of both issues very quickly and with no hassle to me whatsoever. Things like this happen. What I cared about was how the store handled the situation.

I also submitted an inquiry to Scandinavian Child, the parent company of Anka, since the same issue with both chairs might seem to indicate a possible manufacturing or design problem. The Customer Relations Supervisor has forwarded my inquiry to their Product Manager. They indicated that they want to discuss the issues with me further. I expect to hear more from them soon and when I do, I'll post the results of our chat.

Great Customer Service from AnkaBabyStore

We received our highchair on Monday but after opening the box and looking at it, I quickly saw that it was cracked where the leg was attached to the seat. I was very disappointed, to say the least. I'd been waiting to use the chair so I could clean up pureed baby food from all surfaces of our kitchen and dining room... I called AnkaBabyStore and to my surprise, received absolutely fantastic customer service. I don't mean to be cynical but great customer service isn't the norm. Their representative apologized for the situation and put a new highchair in the mail immediately and arranged for FedEx to pick up the broken chair the next day. We'll get it on Thursday. I can't remember the last time I had such great customer service.

Eco-friendly High Chairs

Eliot is now eating solids and is ready for a high chair. Since we have resolved not to buy any plastic unless it's our only option, a plastic high chair was out of the question. However, there are lots of nice wooden high chairs on the market, so it wasn't difficult to find an eco-friendly and baby safe alternative. These three were our favorites.

Stokke Tripp Trapp
Chair Price: $229.99
Cushion Price: $39.99

Before we started researching high chairs, we thought that this would be the one we would choose. Both the seat and footrest of this high chair are adjustable so it can be used for kids 6 months of age through adulthood (it holds up to 300 lbs). It's ergonomically designed and made of cultivated beechwood. It meets US and international safety standards and has a five-point safety harness. It's JPMA certified. There are 9 different wood finishes to choose from including nice bright colors. A cushion can be purchased separately and there are 7 color/pattern options. There's a 7-year warranty on all wooden components. A really nice feature of this chair is that it is meant to be pulled up to your dining table so that your child can eat with the rest of the family. But there is no option for a separate tray, which was something we wanted. Overall, we found it to be a very well designed and attractive chair. It was also the most expensive option.

Kuster K2
Chair Price: $175.00
Cushion Price: $24.99

This new high chair from the UK is adjustable and can be used for kids 6 months of age through 6 years old. It's ergonomically designed and has a simple folding mechanism which makes it easy to store. It has a removable tray, a five-point safety harness, a basket for storing things like bibs (very handy!), self levelling feet and a completely adjustable tray that is removable and dishwasher safe. The chair comes in 4 different finishes and there are 3 cushion options (purchased separately). This chair is made of sustainable beechwood. We really liked the look and function of this chair but ultimately we decided that we wanted something that was made entirely of wood. Additionally, we weren't sure whether the tray was made of a safe plastic, so we chose the final of our three options, the Anka, by Svan. To be fair, I'm sure that we could have confirmed the tray material by contacting the manufacturer.

Anka, by Svan
Chair Price: $169.99 (Cushion included)
Extra Cushion $39.95

This chair was exactly what we were looking for. It's well designed and well priced, attractive, environmentally friendly and baby safe. The chair is made entirely of sustainable wood, except for the tray cover, which is made of phthalate and bisphenol A (BPA)-free plastic. The included chair cushion is made of PBDE-free foam. The tray is removable so it allows us the option of having Eliot sit at the table with us or use a tray of his own. It can be used as a high chair or a booster seat (through 5 years old or 50 lbs). By the time Eliot is 5, he should be able to sit at the table with us on a regular dining room chair. This chair has an ergonomic design with an adjustable seat and footrest which provides good support and it folds for easy storage. The tray cover is dishwasher-safe and the chair cushion is machine-washable which should help with cleaning! It comes in 3 different finishes and there are five cushion colors. It meets both US and international safety standards and is JPMA and ASTM certified. We really love this chair and can't wait to start using it. After we get it set-up and use it for a while, I'll post again to let you know how it's working for us. Also, if you were just dying to know: the strawberry rhubarb pie that I made for the 4th tasted fantastic, including the crust!