Loved Before – Recycled soft toy store | Hacker News Reader

Loved Before – Recycled soft toy store

lovedbefore.london

152 pointskeiferski64 comments

This really tugs at my heart.

Now obviously I am a gruff, cynical sysadmin/devop/SRE/$next. However, I have soft toys from my childhood that I cannot bear to part with.

My children also have their toys, which at least one of them loves dearly.

However, for my toys, I do worry about what will happen to them when I am dead. Will someone love them as much as me? will they cherish them and look after them? or will they rot, and be destroyed alone?

_obviously_ I am projecting. But its something that has eaten at me.

I think most people have had similar feelings, and there’s nothing weird or strange about it. The modern world is just a very disenchanted [1] place, where we are expected to treat physical objects purely as dead pieces of matter. Previous human civilizations did a better job of recognizing that we enjoy imbuing objects in the world with meaning, I think.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disenchantment

It's funny, because I am not a religious person, but I still strongly believe in the power of symbols. Recently, at a concert my brother handed me a container of Tic tacs, which he told me were given to him by our mom.

Mom always has gum or mints around, just one of her little things.

I was, shall we say, chemically inclined towards spiritual moments at the time, and so got a pretty big kick out of the "power" of being handed one of Mom's little magic mints.

But there really is _something_ very real to that feeling (despite the fact that it doesn't come through as strongly on the usual blend of neurotransmitters).

It connects to a deep vein of experience between my brother, mom, and me. I can't count the number of times mom handed out a tic tac or a piece of gum during a car ride when I was growing up. It triggers memories, it puts one in a certain state of mind, to have that little talisman that represents in abstract some huge, irreducible set of experiences.

Symbols have power, and it can be a sort of fun and pleasing experience to contemplate the states of mind that a simple tic tac can induce.

Another little connection to Mom recently was the two Valentine's day cards she sent to my kids - which each had a little smiley face drawn inside. And again, I was kinda struck by the depth of that association, because I've seen the little smilies she draws on countless notes and cards throughout my life.

So instead of just tossing those cards after the week is over as per usual, this time I'm going to cut out that little smile and put it on my bulletin board. A little token of Mom's love, worth way more than the ink and paper it's made of.

Also, while I'm in this state of mind, guess I better go give the old lady a call, so I'll stop rambling here.

"Previous human civilizations did a better job of recognizing that we enjoy imbuing objects in the world with meaning, I think."

I wonder if that's true or just nostalgia? Certainly there are examples of prized possessions in the past. And the rise of manufacturing makes a lot of things feel less unique.

But at the same time, empathy even toward living things took quite a while to develop.

Anthropomorphizing anything made out of foam with googly-eyes is probably in our DNA.. but even a simple teddy bear is kind of a hack on a kid's emotional brain. (Or, in 2023, an "adult" brain). As a thought experiment, how many people would find it easier to share grief about their lost teddy bear than about their dead mother?

Maybe placebo is the wrong word. We channel our souls through anthropomorphized objects to see ourselves more clearly, but in the end we see only dimly and at best recognize that we displace our love and grief metaphorically only to miss the world that we meant the totem to hold for us.

Maybe because humans are also just burnt or left to rot in the ground after they're done?

You're not alone. I've even tried to dream up ways to "humanely" vaporize them so they wouldn't suffer being at the bottom of a trash heap with old food and what not dripping on them, their innards squeezed out, which is sure to be their fate if I donate them. And now I see the same illogical attachment tendencies in a couple of my kids. It's a burden.

I wonder how hard it would be to start a service like that. It would be large branding task (and a fun one!), but I imagine materials and labor cost would be super low.

In Japan, they actually have Shinto services for respectfully burning old dolls that won’t be passed on to the next generation.

Maybe you could send a nice box, something kind of evoking a coffin without being overly morbid, and present it as something like a funeral service. Maybe when you receive the "body" you could clean it up and take a nice photo to remember it by.

Upsell opportunity - 3D scan the beloved stuffy, so that it can live forever in the Metaverse.

Another upsell - cremation. Get a little pendant with the ashes, or spread them into a forest, or something similar.

Only half joking, although something about the idea felt a little gross as soon as "upsell opportunity" entered my mind.

I absolutely love these! I already take pictures of things to remember the memories that are evoked by those objects. A 3D scan would be wonderful imo. Maybe even giving people the ability to recreate the item should they truly want it back for some reason.

You could also provide some sort of bulk deal too, for people who have whole boxes of stuffed animals. Though I dont know how that would fit into the whole theming without it feeling like some sort of mass murder box lmao

Haha, right - as I was thinking about it I was feeling simultaneously sentimental and ghoulish.

Like, "aww, what a sweet idea, to respectfully retire and preserve someone's well loved toy," and then at the same time "yes, it would be easy to make money here by mass-cremating someone's well loved toys".

The line between the two feelings is apparently pretty thin. Perhaps I'll just stay out of the funeral industry lol

Same, I've asked that mine is buried with me, unless either of my kids have a strong desire to keep it. I've ended up with my mother's soft toy lion from the 1950s - I think it will follow the same fate - seems nicer than the bin.

Yes, this is a strangely painful thought for me.

As a young parent (of 2 year old who loves soft toys), these used toys here are quite expensive IMHO. Not that I always buy new toys because my kid is "the special one". In fact, we found a very good condition large tractor at charity shop at 50p.

"Donation" when half of the profit stays as private profits. This would be illegal in the U.S and immoral everywhere else

Plenty of real not-for-profits sell stuffed animals for $1, no need for this rubbish

> This would be illegal in the U.S

Confidently incorrect! It’s common. In fact, you’ve personally probably even seen countless for-profit drop boxes in parking lots.

> and immoral everywhere else

Misrepresentation might be, but it doesn’t seem like it took you long to see how they work so they’re probably not working very hard to misrepresent anything.

Look no further than your local Value Village for a counterexample.

while I doubt these can be effectively cleaned, I may believe that a random teddy bear on the sidewalk has the equivalent microflora of any toy that's been handled by any child for more than 12 hours

soft things generally are an interesting recycling problem (couches, mattresses). I'd happily buy a couch frame used, or use the one from previous tenants at a place. More concerned about mattresses and cushions

Hygiene was the first place my mind went, and while they reference a “spa” part of their process, I kind of feel like that should be front and center in their value proposition. I might be slightly less grossed out if they went in-depth about some eight-step antimicrobial deep-clean, but the cutesy language and lack of detail doesn’t really sell it.

Or maybe we just need to be less fucking prissy about it? As long as they are lice free, bug free, stain free and smell ok, are you that worried?

Surely a trip through the washer and a good, hot dry cycle should be sufficient. This fear of germs has always struck me as extremely odd.

That washer and dryer combo does weird things to stuffed animals. A good number will come out matted and forever changed in texture.

(my mother washed ours after one of us got lice. Some things didn't survive and others were never the same)

How do you know they’re not using things like ozone? Allows them to claim it’s germ-free… but who knows what chemicals are now leeching from the thing (due to the ozone having reacted with compounds in the toy).

This was my first thought. Being a parent is like playing Plague Inc. My youngest's soft toy collection is probably going to cause her to be patient zero of the next pandemic.

I think you just unlocked another revenue angle - indirect innoculation.

Food is often sterilized by rolling it on a conveyor belt next to a very powerful gamma radiation source (Cobalt-60). Someone should set up a service like that for sterilizing used items.

While it would work and (almost certainly) be safe, I think public perception of irradiation is so low it would damage sales.

Irradiation is legal in most of the world, however is barley used in most of Europe. The UK for example allows it but in 2018-19 no irradiated food was sold.

https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2021/03/eu-food-irradiation-r...

My concern would be free polyfill fibers (the stuffing) coming out of it. even if you sterilize the toys the mechanical wear on the cloth will thin it and the fibers have had years to break and work their way through the cloth.

They should also probably be heat treated to avoid the possibility of bed bugs.

Does that photo reference The Velveteen Rabbit?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Velveteen_Rabbit

A key event in the story is relevant to the concern about how to clean used stuffed toys.

I like how each of the toys has a name and a backstory. It’s a nice little touch that makes this a lot more interesting than just a used toy shop.

Its how you bump the price up when selling to rich people, they love the talking point backstory of a toys recent history vs just buying a new one direct from a sweatshop.

but I think we could use our energy better somewhere else than writing backstory for used stuff toys.

How about writing backstory for poor kids in Africa and Asia who need some donation to flourish?

Complaining that things that are utility positive could be more utility positive is an all-too-common criticism, and it's a really lousy one. For one, it's internally inconsistent: if the goal is maximize the utility of one's actions, then rather than spending energy criticizing a positive action for not being more positive, you'd be better off criticizing something negative for being negative. For another: there are heaps of people on Earth. Humanity can, and does, do many things at the same time. If you've got some idea to make the world a better place, go do it. Or don't, it's your life. But criticizing people trying to do a good thing for not doing a better thing is just spreading negativity.

The stories are submitted by people donating the toys.

And contrary to cynical online commenter belief, it is possible to do multiple “good” things for the world at the same time.

Fallacy of relative privation does not a good argument make.

They really should take care in destroying bacteria/virii/(bed) bugs before giving away the toys to kids.

They don't seem to care about this aspect at all.

Why do you think so?

„they are given a thorough clean and refresh in our spa“

This site seems started in London, I don't know if anyone in big city with a strong and active community such as London would buy from there.

It's better to use local free toy exchange/give-away group on facebook or something. I have kids and we almost never buy new toys. if we do have to buy, the used toys on facebook marketplace are often very good and much cheaper than what shown on this website.

The Toy Story fan in me loves this. The microbiologist in me is wondering how thoroughly they clean the toys...

Is this level of attachment good for mental health?

Is being a soulless robot masquerading as a human being good for mental health?

Parent has a point. We accept this level of attachment in children, but do not encourage it, because, well, it is not really necessary, and could be detrimental, to daily survival. This level of attachment may be helpful to the original poster, but it is a valid question as to whether it is actually good for them in the long run.

I imagine the only con is extra spent brain-CPU cycles? Balance that against the benefit of a self-induced feeling of loving and the mental benefits that come with that like stability and stillness.

I think it'd be great for mental health

I suspect not. I find that “soft toys” wind up on floors and shelves and are largely trash, but the kids get a kind of hoarder mentality about them.

Storage container facilities are a blight. I suspect many are filled with rotting toys with similar sentimental value.

Our kids have never really been interested in soft toys apart from a favoured few, but we still seem to have accumulated more than 100 when you add up gifts, prizes and whatnot. It's terribly wasteful.

I have a soft spot for plushies, and these are all so adorable! Loved before and definitely lovable again.

I wonder if there ever will be a good neighborhood tool swap app.

How many lawnmowers does one block REALLY need?

There are libraries of things. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Things

For some toys like Lego people seem to get particularly rabid if you suggest they give them away.

At the current prices, giving a away your Lego is like handing your 401k to a stranger in the street.

> PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO A CYBER ATTACK ON THE ROYAL MAIL, WE ARE UNABLE TO SHIP INTERNATIONALLY

Is this still from the attack a month ago? I have not followed this story but is it surprising that their shipping ability would still be impacted this far after the attack?

It is an interesting idea and I wonder to what extent it could be transplanted to US. In a sense, we already have some charities working in similar way ( Goodwill comes to mind ), but none as far I know that focus exclusively on plush toys.

Very overpriced. I have often seen the same types of teddies for less brand new........

Getting rid of my favorite stuffy was part of growing. The love and memories are not lost even though the physical object moved on.

Not afraid to admit I never got rid of mine. Doing so would feel like throwing out a part of my soul. To me they are rich characters with inner lives.

i still have mine, and he’s going to be with me until i die. either he gets passed on to a different family member or i want to be buried with him.

this is the best thing I've seen all day, what a wonderful service. Thanks!

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