可持续发展实践：Loved Before 如何防止毛绒玩具被送往垃圾填埋场

全球约80%的毛绒玩具和其他玩具最终都会被丢弃。此外，根据2022年的一项研究，它们占全球垃圾填埋场塑料总量的6%。

这是因为毛绒玩具与许多现代服装一样，都存在同样的废弃物问题。聚酯纤维等合成材料是大多数毛绒玩具的主要成分，这些材料难以回收，在垃圾填埋场中需要数百年才能分解。而且，就像时尚行业一样，转售是一种更可持续的选择——成功案例“Loved Before”就证明了这一点。

曾经深爱，爱得更久 Loved Before was created specifically to keep cuddly toys out of landfill and in circulation for longer. Founded by Charlotte Liebling in 2019, Loved Before was born out of Liebling's time volunteering at a charity shop. She saw large numbers of stuffed toys being donated but many ended up being thrown away rather than sold. Loved Before offers a different path. It is a 'sustainable soft toy adoption agency', taking in unwanted plushies, deep cleaning and refreshing them, and then re-selling them via its website.

Last year, Liebling reported that Loved Before had collected more than 60,000 cuddly toys that may otherwise have been thrown away.The toys are donated directly by consumers, who send them to Loved Before's offices, and through a number of London charity shops. According to Liebling, a massive 95% of donated soft toys can be refreshed and rehomed - even if they are old or worn. The small percentage that can't be sold are recycled.

受情绪驱动的购买行为

Cuddly toys aren't necessary purchases. Buying one isn't driven by logic; it's an emotional purchase. We buy them for comfort, for joy, for play.

《玩具总动员》系列电影的成功，完美地展现了玩具所承载的复杂情感。它们虽是无生命的，我们却赋予其人性；我们赋予它们感受和情感。《曾被深爱》对此进行了精彩的诠释。该公司每次对毛绒玩具进行焕新并投放市场时，都会给每只玩具起一个名字，并附上一段关于其性格的小简介。这使它们从单纯的物品转变为潜在买家能够在情感层面产生共鸣的存在。

Donors are asked to write these bios, which increases the power of them. If the donor doesn't provide a background, Loved Before gives the soft toy to someone to look after for a couple of weeks who then writes a background for them. Those same emotions are at play when it comes to donations. Multiple people who have sent in their old cuddly toys to Loved Before have expressed their happiness at having a way to extend their soft toys' lives - so to speak.'

Many have noted that they had been holding onto old toys because they didn't want them to end up in the bin. This is especially true in the case of older or well-loved toys which may not be accepted through existing resale options, such as charity shops.' Loved Before is able to successfully refresh and sell soft toys with history by embracing that history.

Buying a pre-loved toy from Loved Before isn't about getting something pristine. Each toy is given a condition rating - based on the amount of wear it has - and any warnings regarding CE or UKCA labelling. 'Imperfections' are retained - although every toy is safe, sanitised and clean - because they show the toy's previous life. The brand believes that the toys have more value because of the memories already attached to them.

In many ways, Loved Before evokes a lot of the same feelings that consumers have around animals and their pets. The model is as much about how the cuddly toys enhance the customers' lives as about the product itself. Given that, generally speaking, Loved Before cuddly toys cost '10 to '30, this emotional component is vital in getting customers to consider secondhand over similarly - or cheaper - priced new products.

通过行之有效的策略取得成功

Loved Before's success is also down to its use of well-established retail strategies. It adds new toys to its website in 'drops' every Monday, rather than as they come in. This creates a sense of occasion and anticipation for consumers. It also helps to make the brand more visible by making product additions into an event.

Loved Before also uses social media effectively to highlight its cuddly toys. This includes personality-driven posts showcasing the newest additions to the website, images of toys taking part in everyday tasks like cooking, or toys getting refreshed in the 'spa'. At every possible moment, Loved Before centres the toys themselves, building the relationship between viewers and the plushies. The brand has 167,000 followers on Instagram and 176,000 on TikTok with hundreds of positive comments.

Community is another key element. Much like a pet adoption agency, Loved Before leaves the profiles of 'adopted' soft toys on its website, so that their former owners can see what happened to them. It also hosts a forum on its website where adopters can post pictures and updates about their pre-owned purchase.' Again, this taps into those vital emotional elements that drive consumers to want to keep these toys out of landfill.

Last year, Loved Before's pre-loved soft toys made their way into physical retail with dedicated stands in Selfridges' London flagship, Birmingham and Manchester stores. The company's secondhand toys are also sold in a number of independent retailers. Loved Before has also recently launched in the US after massive consumer demand, starting with an online partnership with Bloomingdale's.

在全新毛绒玩具旁陈列二手商品，是改变消费者观念、促使购物者考虑购买二手商品的重要一步——这并非作为购买新商品的补充，而是作为替代选择。在塞尔福里奇（Selfridges）这样的大型零售商中设立专柜，有助于提升这一概念的公信力并提高公众认知度。

正确的元素

It only takes a quick glance at the comments on Loved Before's social media posts to understand that soft toys have incredible emotional power over people. So many consumers engage with the company's posts to express sadness for the toys looking for new homes and their love for their own soft toys - current and past.

This point of connection is a vital component in making Loved Before's resale model work ' in making the toys feel valuable and desirable. But there is another thing that the soft toy industry may have going for it when it comes to resale that fashion increasingly doesn't. And that's durability.'Safety standards, such as the CE or UKCA mark, require toys to have strength and stability. Those traits are the same ones that arguably mean that soft toys are excellent candidates for the circular economy as they can withstand many years of adventures.

And that's exactly what Loved Before is aiming for.