Green Gifts at the Zoo

When guests visit the Zoo, one of the most popular things to do is get some fun souvenirs at Zoo Atlanta Trading Company or Pandamonium gift shops. Whether you’re looking for a cuddly stuffed elephant or a shopping tote featuring your favorite Zoo animal, we’re proud of all the green options we sell that help keep plastic out of landfills and our oceans.

One of our big partners in the plush department is Wildlife Artists, Inc., with its line of Eco Pals plush animals. These plush are made without plastic – no beans, whiskers, glitter or sequins. Their eyes and noses are stitched, the tags are attached with fiber strings, and the stuffing is made out of 100 percent recycled plastic. On top of that, they’re shipped without any plastic packaging whatsoever. We’re looking to get an exclusive line of panda Eco Pals later in March too.

Our gift shops also carry items that eliminate the most common single-use plastics – reusable straws (including a cool collapsible and portable design), BPA-free stainless-steel bottles and our recyclable tote bag. Last year, we saved 3,000 paper shopping bags by selling the recyclable tote bags. These bags are made with 80 percent recycled materials and can of course be reused. Zoo Atlanta switched to using paper bags (made from 100 percent recycled paper) instead of plastic bags more than 25 years ago, so there’s no telling how many plastic bags we’ve saved from going into the environment.

We hope you’ll join us on our mission to avoid plastic shopping bags, plastic straws and other single-use plastics when you’re shopping. It can truly make a difference for wildlife and the environment. Bringing a reusable tote bag into the grocery store or saying no to plastic straws is not a huge change in your life. Find out other ways you can be a green savvy shopper here!