Why we'll now buy-back your pre-loved eco toys

Reuse is queen!

The most Earth-kind item is one that already exists!

We live this everyday as a business:

• We buy our business assets (e.g., shelves, trailer, printer, laptop, etc) second-hand on Adverts.ie - and sell them there again when no longer needed;

• We accept other businesses' waste cardboard boxes and reuse them.

I live this everyday as an individual:

• I haven't bought new clothes since about 2015. I mostly wear what I have, and when I need something new, I buy pre-loved on depop;
• I buy bikes / scooters / wetsuits / plant pots / other random things we sometimes need as a family pre-loved on Adverts.ie - and sell them there again when no longer needed.

But the eco toys we sell are all new

Yep, the stock we sell is all new. Sustainably-made, but new.⁣
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'Eco' as the new normal for toys will mean 3 things:⁣
1. Zero CO2 emissions from new toys;⁣
2. Zero toys to landfill; and⁣
3. Pre-loved toys are normal.⁣
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To date we've only been tackling the first 2, by making new toys more available that are carbon-neutral (1), and either durable-and-recyclable, or just recyclable/ compostable (2).⁣
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Pre-loved toy selling (3) happens on Adverts.ie, Facebook groups, in charity shops. But it's a jumble sale - sometimes you get a great deal, but often they don't have what you need.⁣

What's missing is curated pre-loved toy selling.⁣

What is curated pre-loved toy selling?

It's a coherent toystore, with all the sizes / colours / options in each range - as you know any toystore right now - but with a 'pre-loved' option for as many of the toys as possible.

So you can be sure of getting what you need. Hopefully preloved but failing that, new.

The toys they sell new, they take-back when grown out of to sell again pre-loved.

And maybe they even accept certain pre-loved toys that they don't stock new - like buckets full of random LEGO pieces, for example.

But they don't accept any toys that are off their curated list. It's not a jumble sale. It's Proper Toystore x Pre-Loved.

We want to promote curated pre-loved toy selling

We dream of a permanent physical shop, from which to facilitate this. But meanwhile, we've decided to buy-back pre-loved eco-toys that we stock - see here.

Just the toys and books we stock. That's the manageable answer to 'curated', for now.⁣

We don't expect this will by very busy yet. Jiminy isn't even 2 years old. Most of our brands we introduced to Ireland. How many families will have already outgrown them?⁣

But we hope in a small way to spread the idea, that 'pre-loved' could / should be a section in every retailer's catalogue.⁣

Who else is doing this?

Other retailers selling curated pre-loved for kids - let's support them! Which are missing? Let us know!

• www.norstudios.ie (clothing)
• www.lillebarn.ie (clothing)
• www.openingminds.ie (schoolbooks)
• www.bookhaven.ie (schoolbooks)

And less-curated but still very helpful pre-loved for kids. Which are missing? Let us know!

• www.flopsyshop.ie
• Facebook group: Preloved Toys Ireland - Imagine, Create, Build
• Facebook group: Pre Loved Funky & Original Children's Clothing & Accessories Ireland

Got toys to give away or sell, that are *not* one of our brands?

We can't take these I'm afraid. It's too much complexity - new product descriptions, new product photos, for every new toy (whereas for toys we stock new, we can just add the pre-loved option to the existing listing, which makes it do-able).

We recommend offering other toys for free or for sale on:

• www.Adverts.ie;
• Facebook group: Preloved Toys Ireland - Imagine, Create, Build; or
• Facebook group: Zero Waste Freecycle Ireland

Get in touch!

Let us know what you think in the comments below! Thank you!