When I first discovered Smiling Planet, I was instantly smitten by this mom and pop company’s avid commitment to teaching children respect for the environment through artful, eco-friendly housewares.

Essentially Freddy and Olivia Deane have devised a way to make dishes out of a recycled polypropylene plastic that’s free of BPA, Phthalates, melamine and all that other stuff you hear about in scary news stories these days. Even the packaging is eco-d up the whazoo.

The world is wonderful: Earth friendly, melamine-free kids plates from Smiling Planet

Each plate features a different illustration from the Smiling Planet children’s book they designed about being good to the Earth. Take a look and you’ll know right away why the simple, endearing, line drawings remind me of something out of the Little Prince.

My picks: The smiling whale (shown here), world peace, and the teeny elephant — despite the fact that it makes those three organic baby carrots you’re forcing your kids to eat at dinner really, really big.

Find a great range of Smiling Planet’s eco-friendly plates for kids at their website.