The buzz word in the stuffed animal world these days is “soft,” with toymakers scrambling to make their offerings to stand out as the plushest stuffies in the biz. And despite toy sales being soft as well (down by 8%), the Wall Street Journal reports that stuffed animals are bucking the trend with 4% growth. “We’ve never had a category overshadow all the rest like this before,” says Tucson toy store owner Autumn Ruhe. The Journal heard similar musings from the CEOs of stuffed animal manufacturers, who all want to take home the title for softest stuffy. “Soft sells,” says Ty Warner, founder and…