Jason and Emma Ash, founders of the circular economy app, YoungPlanet, are on a mission to bring new meaning to sustainable parenting by highlighting the real value of second hand. YoungPlanet allows parents to regift parenting and children’s items to others for free, in a bid to help families reduce their material footprints, cut their living costs and avoid unnecessary landfill contributions.
Here, Jason and Emma discuss how they’re changing the meaning of ‘second hand’ and building tight-knit sharing communities through the YoungPlanet app.
Why Focus on Children’s Items?
The cost of parenting has a much larger environmental and financial impact than you may think. Despite second hand items becoming more accessible to families, there are hardly any options for families to dispose of pre-used children’s items in an eco-friendly way.
An estimated 8.5 million toys are thrown away by families in the UK each year! After deducing that landfills were one of the easiest options for families wanting to get rid of children’s toys and clothing, we wanted to offer parents a convenient way to pass on their unwanted items, whilst protecting their budgets and the environment.
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How Is the Circular Economy Changing the Stigma Around Pre-Used Items?
As more families are becoming increasingly comfortable with giving and receiving pre-owned children’s items, the growth of the circular economy is proof that second hand doesn’t have to be second best. Since 2018, the market value of second hand items has increased by 404%, and circular economy platforms like ours are leading the charge on creating sharing communities across the country.
We’re working to change parents’ perceptions that sustainable options are inconvenient and unaffordable, and to establish trust between communities across the country. Since 2019, we have helped to make second hand children’s items an easy choice for over 90,000 parents, and prevented £800,000 worth of items from going to landfill!
How Is YoungPlanet Changing the Way Families Think About Their Waste?
YoungPlanet aims to do more than just help parents declutter and save the planet; we want to encourage a sustainable way of thinking that can be applied to other areas in life, in order to help others reduce their carbon and material footprints.
We know how important it is to do our bit for the environment, but we still need constant reminders to form sustainable habits. That’s why the joy of giving, coupled with the financial reward of using YoungPlanet, makes it much easier for families to prioritise environmentally-friendly options.
Our ‘Skip The Tip’ campaign earlier this year particularly encouraged families to embrace circular economy living and set new sustainable habits for 2022. But our focus doesn’t just stop at parents. We also want to inspire younger generations to continue choosing sustainable options as they grow older, and to equip them with the right knowledge and means for effective climate conservation in the future.
To find out more about YoungPlanet, visit www.youngplanet.com
