Zaobao article (translated): Who says it has to be new? Preloved toys are fun and eco-friendly.
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/lifestyle/eco/story20240811-4423050 by Chen Ying Zhen
Thrilled and grateful to be featured in Zaobao, our daily national Chinese newspaper! A huge milestone for us and a testament to the love and support that’s driving our preloved toys business forward. We hope you enjoy the article!
(Left to right) Jayne Guo, Seet Toh Siew Wee, and Si Min Chng started the preloved resale platform Play Beyond, to encourage parents to dispose of toys in an eco-friendly way. (Photography by Long Guo Xiong)
The toy industry uses a lot of plastic, and a lot of toys are discarded as trash every year. Three new moms started Play Beyond, an online platform for buying and selling preloved toys, to encourage parents to reduce waste and change the new-toys-only mentality.
What do you do with toys that your child no longer plays with? Do you find it a waste to just throw them away?
Three new moms in their 30s found that decluttering toys was harder than they thought. To help other parents and reduce waste, they started Play Beyond, an online platform for buying and selling preloved toys, to encourage more people to adopt eco-friendly practices and to buy quality toys at a lower price.
The trio met while participating in the National University of Singapore Overseas College Programme and spent a year in Shanghai as interns. Since returning to Singapore, they have kept in touch with each other and witnessed each other's life stages such as getting married and having children.
After the birth of their children, there were more and more toys at home, and they all had a headache in organising them. Siew Wee, who moved to Japan for work, found a thriving preloved culture there, where toys could be bought and sold easily. The trio applied for the SG Eco Fund and with the support of the fund, started Play Beyond (playbeyond.co). They participated in their first bazaar in May 2024 and launched the official website in July.
Cleaned and inspected before selling
The Play Beyond website lists more than 200 toy brands that can be consigned through Play Beyond as long as they are in good condition and not damaged. Toys will be picked up from the seller's home, cleaned, and carefully inspected (for example, puzzles must not be missing a piece) before being placed on the online platform for sale.
(Left to right) Si Min, Jayne and Siew Wee with their children, taking part in "Green House 2024", a sustainability retail event (Photo provided by interviewees)
The price of the toys is determined by Play Beyond, with the seller receiving either cash (70 percent of the price) or credit from Play Beyond (80 percent of the price) for toys that cost $80 or more, or 60 percent of the price or 70 percent of the price for toys that cost less than $80.
Si Min, from the financial sector, shared that other resale platforms list a multitude of products which are not curated, the toys are also neither screened nor inspected, making it difficult for buyers to confirm the condition of the toys and a risk that buyers end up with goods that do not match their descriptions. "We want to provide a more enjoyable shopping experience."
Play Beyond also sells "less-than-perfect" toys
Play Beyond's toys are clearly categorised and curated so that parents can easily find the right toy for their child's age, brand or toy category. Their offerings include brand new, unopened toys that are 20 to 30% cheaper than retail prices. Play Beyond also works with brands such as the Swedish brand BRIO, to sell toys that are "a little less than perfect" and cannot make it onto retail shelves, such as toys with slight dents on boxes or train sets missing a minor part. Many parents do not mind such 'imperfections', and instead of consuming fuel and increasing carbon footprint by shipping these back to the manufacturers, it is a win-win for both the distributor and the environment to sell these toys at a discount, says Si Min.
Play Beyond conducted a questionnaire survey with hundreds of parents and found that 70% wanted to adopt more environmentally sustainable practices but often found it challenging. "We want to raise awareness about the environmental considerations around toys", Siew Wee shared.
80% of toys become trash
The carbon footprint of toys is quite significant. According to a 2014 report by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the toy industry's "plastic intensity" (i.e., plastic inputs per dollar of production) is one of the highest among consumer goods industries, with toy manufacturers consuming 40 tons of plastic for every US$1 million in revenue. Statistics from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, an organisation that champions Circular Economy, shows that more than 40 million toys are thrown away as garbage each year in France alone, and another study in 2020 reported that nearly 80 percent of toys end up as marine debris or in landfills and incinerators.
Jayne said she initially bought a variety of toys for her daughter, only to find that her child quickly lost interest. She encourages parents to emphasise quality over quantity when buying toys, and to change the mentality of buying only brand-new toys. "Many Nordic countries have already done this, so we should consider the circular economy as a normal choice and encourage more people to support preloved goods."
*Play Beyond's next event will be at the Eco Bazaar at Paya Lebar Quarter (PLQ) from August 25 to September 1 (11am to 9pm).
Green Living Tips: 5 Tips for Shopping for Toys
(Left to right) Jayne, Si Min, Siew Wee emphasised quality over quantity where toys are concerned. However, quality toys do not come cheap, so they encourage parents to consider preloved toys, to save money and save earth while they are at it. (Photography by Long Guo Xiong)
- Quality not quantity: Too many toys can easily overwhelm children and impact their engagement with the toys. You can adopt the practice of toy rotation, i.e., pick a few pieces for your child to play with, put the rest away, and rotate a batch of toys every few weeks.
- Choose quality toys from trusted brands: Such toys meet safety standards and have resale value. That said, quality toys are often not cheap, so consider preloved toys to save money and protect the environment.
- Choose toys with diverse play styles (open-ended): Buy fewer single-function toys, and try to choose toys with diverse play styles (open-ended), such as building blocks and magnetic tiles, which can stimulate your child's imagination and are suitable for different ages, so that they can grow along with your child.
- Sharing toys: Toys that your child no longer plays with can be resold or given away to friends and relatives. The Punggol Regional Library also offers a toy library space for users to play.
- DIY toys: A cardboard box can be turned into a toy house or a car, a few bottles and a small ball can be used for bowlingThis method can be a good test bed to see if your child is interested in the toy before purchasing a set. Making toys together can also encourage parent-child bonding.
