Hugg-A-Planet: The Newest Addition to the International Space Station

In many cultures around the world, a hug is a sign of affection. This was the sentiment behind the name Hugg-A-Planet for the soft globes produced by the company with the same name, whose spheres are now orbiting the Earth.

On this year’s anniversary of the brutal destruction of the Twin Towers, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched a resupply rocket to the International Space Station, which included among its contents a Hugg-A-Planet Earth, Moon, and Mars.

“I was actually in New York City for a vigil for peace that was run by the United Nations in Central Park during the same weekend that the Hugg-A-Planets docked at the space station,” said Robert Forenza, the company’s president.

“We were selected by NASA because our Hugg-A-Planets would survive the flight and because they have so much detail. Mars has 400 places labeled on it, which makes it the most detailed Mars commercially available,” continued Mr. Forenza, also adding that, “All of the planets will be there for the duration of the space station’s life until 2016, but I imagine they will extend it to 2020.”

The Hugg-A-Planets will be used on the station as part of NASA’s education mandate, according to Mr. Forenza. Beyond tools for learning, the planets are also constructed in an environmentally-friendly manner. While their shells are made with traditional cotton, the planets are filled with recycled fabric scraps from the garment industry.

“The scraps are actually cotton, acrylic, and a little polyester to give bounce. The fillings are specifically processed for pillows and toys,” said Mr. Forenza. The American and Spanish language Hugg-A-Planets are made entirely in the United States. The company also has French, German, Italian, and Dutch language planets which are filled in the United States, but the shells are made offshore.

Hugg-A-Planet, which has been a player in the toy industry since 1983, was also recognized this year with the third annual international Dr. Toy Best Green Toy Company Award for its “pioneering work in using recycled fabric scraps as toy fill and being one of the first to create organic shell toys,” said Stevanne Auerbach, Ph.D./Dr. Toy, director of The Institute for Childhood Resources.

Photo courtesy of Hugg-A-Planet.

The company has a line of organic shell plush white terrycloth stuffed toys called Foundlings that come in the following animal shapes: teddy bear, bunny, rabbit, elephant, puppy, dog, whale, and turtle.

The Foundlings are made completely in the United States. “The terry cloth is especially made for us, and we have the black eyes embroidered in for safety. For the fill, we use unbleached cotton clippings so there are no chemicals used in the cotton,” said Mr. Forenza.

The Foundlings are made from organic cotton to ensure that children play with toys that are free of pesticides that are used in traditional cottons, explained Mr. Forenza, who added that the planets are made with traditional cotton because of the current difficulties of printing clearly on organic cottons. While printing can be done on organic cotton, he said, “it’s still too pricy and would drive up the manufacturing costs, making them less affordable.” Readers can learn more about Hugg-A-Planet at the company’s domain site: peacetoys.com.

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