Nuremberg, Germany - Toys made of a renewable material, bamboo, or tiny cars that demonstrate low-emission engines are eye-catching examples of a green trend at the Nuremberg Toy Fair which opened Thursday.

While no one could claim that the vast variety of plastic dolls and semiconductor-filled remote-control cars at Nuremberg are biodegradable, a few manufacturers have put environmental standards at the centre.

"We see it as the children's future. Toys ought not to damage our environment," said Felicitas Hoegger of Slowtoys, a tiny Swiss company, that uses recycled cardboard to make dolls' houses.

The little houses are assembled with glue made from renewable wheat starch and printed with ink made from soybeans.

HaPe, a Chinese company at the fair, says environmental friendliness is a key driver in its choice of bamboo as a material.

"Bamboo is incredibly renewable," said a German executive, Thomas Guenther. "Basically it's a weed. In Asia, some species grow amazingly high in the space of just a few years."

HaPe uses rods of giant bamboo to make nice-looking racing cars and helicopters for younger children.

Other eco-toys on show this week include a different company's house which has a paint based on beeswax and a roof full of solar collectors that power low-use indoor LED lights.

Fuel cell motors, shown at last year's toy fair in a remote-controlled toy racing car, are back again in the form of a science set from German manufacturer Kosmos for the budding young engineer.

Children can attach the motor to a toy car and study how electrolytes produce energy in the batteries.

The six-day annual fair in Nuremberg, Germany's old centre of toymaking, features nearly 2,700 exhibitors showing more than 1 million products. The industry sees the main potential for greater sales in emerging economies such as India, China and Brazil.

Internet: www. spielwarenmesse. de (dpa)