I was pleasantly surprised to see The Wall Street Journal dive into the history and economics of beloved teething toy, Sophie the Giraffe, today. One of my favorite tidbits: Like a fine wine, Sophies rest for two months after baking before being hand polished.
Sophie has been made in France by Vulli for fifty years and is practically a national treasure, but the teether really took off in 2007 when it began being sold outside of France.
What's the attraction of this $25 teether? (Which sells for about half the price in France, incidentally). Parents are drawn to Vulli's commitment to using safe materials (especially after all the focus on BPA's in children's toys the last few years) and, the Journal notes, Sophie's sophisticated, French-themed packaging doesn't hurt.
Read more: "How a Rubber Giraffe Became a Jet-Setter" by Christina Passariello, The Wall Street Journal.
(Image: Sophie Giraffe USA)
Ellen's Thirties Style Small Space
Juan's Garage Turned Modern Guest House
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Commercial Flour Sa...
10 Picnic-Ready Salads to Eat Outside
Recipe: Thai Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry
Simple as it may be, I am sold on it. My son ADORED his and I just had to keep it out of reach of our dog who I'm sure would have loved chewing on it too! Interesting little trivia: Tom Selleck buys one from a street vendor in the movie "Three Men & a Baby" (although he calls it a dinosaur) - and that movie was made long before they apparently started selling them in the U.S. in 2006.
Brilliant marketing. I was one who "had to have" Sophie for my baby. What a waste of money. He almost never used it as a teether. I tried to force it on him but he wasn't at all interested, but somehow all of her spots rubbed off, so she's completely white, the only color on her is the eyes. He's 3 now and uses her occasionally as a giraffe toy. I think Sophie is beyond darling, but how she's been a staple in France for so long is beyond me.
It confuses me to read that Sophie was only sold in the U.S. starting in 2007. In "Three Men and a Baby" Tom Sellek's charachter buys Sophie from a street vendor. That movie came out in 1987! Maybe that street vendor was also an international importer.
@Linnybee My son also wasn't into Sophie, but I passed her on to my niece who is a fan.
@MWellingtons & KK415 So funny you mention Three Men And a Baby - I caught part of it on tv not long ago and also noticed Sophie's cameo! This is a mystery that the Journal should get to the bottom of!!
I wanted to get Sophie for my daughter until I read reviews about this teether on amazon. It has been a choking hazard for some children and has been tested toxic in France! (http://blog.saferchemicals.org/2011/12/whatsophiethegiraffetestedtoxicinfrance.html)
The WSJ article says that Sophie isn't toxic: "Sophie hasn't been immune to doubts about safety. In December, right before the holiday rush, French consumer advocacy group UFC-Que Choisir published a report accusing Sophie of containing toxins. Mr. Jacquemier said the naturally occurring toxins in rubber, which have only become detectable recently thanks to new technology, are way below the safety standards the European Union will put in place next year.
But Mr. Jacquemier says he isn't unwilling to consider new ways to make Sophie safer. Sophie products "must be irreproachable."
My daughter never used her Sophie as a teether, but loves playing with her (and with the mini "baby Sophie" keychain).
My son wasn't interested in his until about a month ago. Now he loves Sophie! We actually have two, both gifts, which is good when one can't be found.
As to the controversy on toxins... If they are naturally occurring in the rubber, then I'm not sure what the big deal is. I get controversy if a company knowingly puts chemicals and toxins in products, especially children's toys, but if it is naturally occurring you really need to refocus your energy elsewhere... There are plenty of companies that still purposefully use BPA, phthalates, etc. in their products which is certainly more worrisome.
My daughter loved Sophie, so much so that the top layer of rubber? plastic? paint? was peeling off! When I contacted the company I was told "it happens". No replacement, no apology, no nothing!
I had a Sophie when I was a baby and I am both American and 40 years old. So, somebody was importing this teether loooong before 2006. Now, my son has one and while he does not play with her much now, he certainly chompled on her a lot when his front teeth were coming in!
As for the Amazon reviews, I read those too. I understand the concerns about the length of Sophie's legs but our family decided she would be a supervised toy rather than writing her off completely. Millions of this toy must have been sold and yet I've not read of one death due to it. Has anyone else?
Hi,
I live in Germany, and sophie has been banned since 2011. There is a magazine here called Ökotest, and they found that there are too many nitrosamines leaking from the rubber, or something like that. Anyways it is not allowed to sell or buy the giraffe here at the moment, until the numbers are reduced. Germany has stricter guidelines. This is related to what was written about the French magazine, they did the test after Ökotest.
There is supposed to be a new production coming out this spring that will have a reduced number of the nitrosamines, so they are improving their production, at least for Germany.
Stories are all either in German of French. http://www.cleankids.de/2012/02/27/okotest-nachwirkungen-zu-sophie-la-girafe/20557