Iglu Soft Play

Soft Play for Toddlers, From a Latvian Family Manufacturer Since 1998.

Right. So Iglu Softplay is the rather brilliantly engineered children's soft-play range made in Latvia by a family manufacturer with the slightly less catchy name of PEPI RER, which has been doing this sort of thing properly since 1998. The Iglu brand itself launched in 2015 — and has, in the intervening decade, sold rather more than 250,000 sets worldwide, which is the kind of number one stops and notices. The whole proposition is the unfussy version of "developmental play": foam shapes that toddlers can crawl over, climb, jump off, knock down, build into forts, and (eventually) repurpose as tiny pieces of furniture, all while quietly developing motor coordination, spatial awareness, balance, and a perfectly age-appropriate sense of imaginative chaos.

The signature ranges include the Creativity Set (10 shapes — castles, obstacle courses, and the rest), the Discoverer Set (7 shapes), the Explorer Set (6 shapes), and the Ball Pool Heaven, which is exactly what it sounds like and is, by all accounts, properly transformative on rainy weekends. Every set is made from high-density PE foam covered in vegan PVC leather, with anti-slip covers and concealed zippers, and is BPA-free, phthalate-free, certified to EU, US, UK and Canadian safety standards, and backed by a two-year warranty (though parents tend to report them lasting rather longer). Sustainability is taken seriously here — the brand uses recycled materials and has reduced production waste by up to 98%, which is the rather more substantial version of the green claim. Wipes clean with a damp cloth. Currently in active service in homes, daycares, schools, and (one suspects) the occasional adult home office where the foam shapes have been recruited as a footrest.

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