Why sharing our toys is good for the planet

This Black Friday, we invite you to save some pennies and help save the environment by joining our Plastic Free North Devon Toy Swap

We’re gearing up to host our second Plastic Free North Devon Toy Swap on 26th November, which also happens to be Black Friday. With the growth of internet shopping and large multi-national corporations, Black Friday has established a foothold in British culture over the last few years. Flash sales from all the big brands, that coincide with the last monthly payday before Christmas, encourage mass consumption of mass produced items that more often than not end up in landfill by the time next Black Friday’s sales roll around. And it’s not just the products we are consuming, but the energy and natural resources that go into making them. So this Black Friday we wanted to shake things up a bit and change the narrative - how about instead of rushing to buy things that both we and the planet can’t afford, we share what we already have? 

Claire Moodie, CEO Plastic Free North Devon, explains the problem with hyper-consumerism, and how a toy swap fits in:

“We currently have a culture of unconscious consumption, which is stripping the environment and leaving a trail of plastic in its wake. We need to change our mindset into thinking that buying new is only for when necessary, so that reuse, recycle, pass on, mend, and upcycle becomes the norm. Which is where events like toy swaps come in, providing an opportunity for you to pass your children’s once loved toys on to a new home. It’s also a great opportunity to have a conversation with your children about why you are choosing to donate the toys they no longer play with, and why you are not choosing to buy new. The more we talk to our children about sustainability and the health of the planet, and normalise a culture of reduce and reuse, the more chance we have of making sure that our planet survives and thrives into the future.”

This Black Friday, why not bin excess consumerism rather than binning our toys?

Join us for our Plastic Free North Devon Toy Swap at Heanton Church Hall 7-9pm Friday 26 November. Entry is £5 and includes a refreshment and five toy swap tokens. This is a fantastic way of making sure we reduce our consumption, reuse materials that have already been made into a toy, and recycle and refresh the life of toys that have gone to the back of a cupboard. 

Sharing is caring

In the lead up to the event, we invite donations of toys at our office, Unit 6 Velator Way between 9am-3pm Mon-Thurs. Please only donate toys that you would be happy to buy -  donate the toys that your child used to love, carried everywhere with them and was always playing with, and that you think another child will love and treasure. And then join us on the day of the swap and find a new (old) toy that your child will love and treasure in turn. Simple as that. But then the simple ideas are often the best.

Feeling inspired?

If you’d like to go a bit further exploring the options when it comes to what we buy (and don’t buy), here’s a few more ideas of how we can use our consumer power to help reduce our negative impacts on the planet:

Buy Nothing Day 

A campaign to boycott Black Friday by not buying anything non-essential for the whole day - check out our previous blog for more info.

Shop Local

Support local, independent producers, makers, and retailers - check out our shop local directory.

Woolacombe Toy Swap

Run by our friends over at Plastic Free Woolacombe - 7-9pm Thursday 25 November Woolacombe Village Hall.

Try the Ply

Check out our sustainable wooden bellyboards - they’re a great alternative to the cheap polystyrene ones and are available to borrow for free, or you can buy one from our website.

Visit our Repair Cafe

Learn from the expert sewing volunteers, who will help you repair your old clothes over a cup of tea and a chat - check out our blog to learn more about how the textile industry impacts the planet and why we set up our repair cafe.

Shop4Good

A campaign from North Devon Council to promote more sustainable shopping habits, running throughout COP26.