Sophie La Girafe

Sophie was born in France in 1961. In those days, the only animal toys available were farm animals and pet figures …

A toy made from 100% natural rubber : ​The latex from the hevea tree was first processed in 1928 using the vulcanization technique invented by Mr. Charles Goodyear. ​The rubber used by the French company Vulli (based in Rumilly in the Haute-Savoie region of France) comes exclusively from the hevea trees growing in Malaysia. Each morning before the heat of the day settles in, the milky liquid that oozes from the cells beneath the bark is collected from these millions of hevea trees. This liquid is known as “latex”. ​This latex is natural, soft, elastic, waterproof, insulating and pleasant to the smell and touch. ​To create the little wonder that is Sophie la girafe, Vulli first heats the latex using a special process involving a technique called “rotomoulding” and then performs a series of 14 manual operations.