Written by Zsofia from GoyGoy
How GoyGoy Recycled Baby Clothing Originated
As a first-time mom, I was surprised to find out that this little boy of mine needed so many accessories. I wasn’t even 4 months pregnant and the spare room was already filled to the brim with baby stuff: Baby monitor, newborn pillow, nest, white noise machine, crib, a cute little mobile, a soothing vibrating chair, a pram, pram gloves and coffee cup holder…the list is endless!
If the truth be told - I did use many of these items, however most of them where left unscratched and some of them didn’t make it out of the packaging. As the months passed by, my baby was growing and by the time I could catch up, the number of things that either we didn’t use or no longer fit were taking over my loft.
My little boy never liked that chair, he wasn’t a fan of white noise; the lovely, cute elephants circling on top of his crib where distracting and made nap time even harder. So many items with so much use still left in them and a lot of things ended up in storage still brand new.
My first thought was, “What a waste of money!” However, I began to grow more conscious of the issues we are facing today and I realised that the problems where much bigger than a waste of money and storage space.
Realising the Importance of Sustainable Baby Products
Around this time my attitudes began to change, and my world view shifted. I became more focused on the why, how, and where whenever purchasing new products. “Why do I need this? How was it made? Where is it coming from?” The information out there is overwhelming to say the least. I used to spend my evenings before bed doing research into this and found myself so muddled up with all the contradictory information and advice online that I didn’t know which was the right path. A lot of this misinformation was coming from my personal social media channels. It’s unreal how many posts are out there - the way adverts find you, connect the dots and push until you click buy it now.
How to Kickstart Shopping Sustainably
I made the decision to unfollow all social media accounts that didn’t inspire me to be/do better. I cleaned it all up, unfollowed big brands, celebrities, and mindless influencers. “Cross fit? Sorry, that’s not me. Amazing self-holding levitating breast pump? I can’t afford you anyway so why keep looking at you. You just had a baby, and your stomach is already trimmed? You are not making me happy, Bye bye!”
Then the search started for new accounts to follow. Accounts that inspire me to change or adapt to new ways of doings things for a better tomorrow. Small local businesses, entrepreneurs, real mums, parents that shared their real-life struggles and made the best lemonade out there. My feed is now my safe place where I don’t feel guilt or judgment, where I get ideas and challenge myself to form new habits. After all, the future will be the world that will host my son’s life.
I saw this quote once and it really stuck with me, “If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem”, it’s hard to hear, but it’s the truth. Turning my face away from problems like these, choosing to be naive or not in control of the change I want to see in the world was the problem. So, I better get on with it and be a doer, be part of the solution and not part of the problem.
What is GoyGoy?
The overflow of baby stuff and the social media cleansing moment I had coalesced into GoyGoy. Not only a preloved online baby shop, but a platform to speak out about issues like this, with a sustainable parenting twist. A place where new mums can find out that you don’t really need a baby wipe warmer! A platform with information, real stories, real collaborations and above all, support for each other.
Luckily for us, change is happening and consumer attitudes for ethical fashion are on the rise. Yes! 60% of millennials say they want to shop more sustainably. We, the educators of the future generation, are becoming more aware of the mess that we are leaving behind for our children and we are now consuming a bit more ethically, or at least looking at ways to change.
Only 15 percent of consumers recycle their used clothing, but that number is growing day by day and it’s our mission to make it easy, fast, and simple to buy and sell your pre-loved baby clothes.
Support us on this journey, spread the word and join the movement!