Cork's Toy Library launches Christmas Campaign

Christmas is coming and with it, a toy shopping list that seems to grow longer each year. For many parents eager to live more sustainably, it is difficult to reconcile the short-lived and linear nature of plastic toys that are bought and played with a handful of times before being discarded.

The Toy Library, recently launched, is working to change all this, extending the use time of toys by providing an online platform for free pre-loved toys, along with face-to-face events.

Their Christmas campaign kicks off on November 10 from 11am to 3pm at Cork Cricket Club. Attendees can look forward to a toy swap, a wrapping corner, and a Teddy Bear Hospital provided by Surgeon Noonan as part of the UCC Medical Society.

This is the first in a series of three events that will be held in the run-up to Christmas, with the ultimate aim of convincing each family to make at least one toy among all the toys they’ll give the children this Christmas, a circular one, coming from The Toy Library.

With 90% of toys created from virgin petro-plastic, the toy business is the most plastic-intensive in the world, emitting so much CO2 that it is estimated it would take a billion trees to absorb it. Keeping toys in circulation for as long as possible makes sense, and the Toy Library offers a panacea to this growing environmental issue.

The woman behind all this, Giorgia Anile, is addressing something many parents are familiar with.

It all started from the experience of being a mother. Being exposed to all these desires the kid has every day, there’s a new request every day, there’s a new interest, and then it’s so important for her to get that specific toy. And then she gets it. She plays with it for a couple of hours, and then it’s old news.

“So I was very frustrated by that. I didn’t think that it was healthy.”

Looking at the current rehoming platforms, she felt neither Facebook nor Freecycle was the right fit.

“I started giving things away using Facebook groups. But I really didn’t like the way it worked. It didn’t feel comfortable to me. I don’t think it’s a very ethical platform.

“There is Freecycle, but it’s not very user-friendly.”

As Giorgia’s awareness of plastic waste excess toys grew, so did her interest in the circular economy, and the idea to create a toy library was born as a solution to a problem she and so many others encountered.

“I’m a product researcher, and I work in technology. My PhD is in human-computer interaction. So, I started putting the researcher hat on. OK, how can I achieve this vision of a world of sustainable play without having a physical location? 4

I thought, let’s make a platform; a platform is nothing but a two-sided network, right? So, there are givers of toys on one side and receivers of toys on the other side. And it’s peer-to-peer. I don’t have to manage stock. I don’t have to manage logistics. I don’t have rent. I just connect givers and takers.

The Toy Library social enterprise captures the zeitgeist of our times. Many family homes are swamped with excess toys that have plenty of use left in them, yet it is difficult to find a suitable place to donate them.

By using the Toy Library, they can continue to be enjoyed by others, reducing their toy footprint. Best of all, it’s free; simply connect with the giver and agree on a collection point and time.

Giorgia’s dream came to life with the launch in Carrigaline in June.

“I couldn’t believe the response from people. The launch event was magic. We launched it in Carrigaline on the bandstand. So many people came - the amount of joy that was generated on that day!

“The weather was beautiful. We had giant bubbles, children running everywhere, chaos. But, like, joy, joyful chaos and kids coming to us saying this is the best thing ever!”

On that celebratory day of the launch, Giorgia, her colleagues on her board and the volunteers who helped realised the power of the Toy Library and its immediate positive impact.

We all saw how easy it is to create joy that is sustainable just by connecting like the power of connection, the power of the network.

Since then, the scope of the Toy Library has been expanding, and in addition to the online platform connecting givers and takers of good quality used toys and face-to-face toy swaps held offline, Giorgia is also working closely to support those in need.

“We work very closely with Tusla to give any overflow of toys or anything that is related to children in need. We have a direct connection with direct provision,” said Giorgia.

Over the past summer, they gathered beach toys for direct provision outings and school bags and continue to find ways to support children in need through the powerful and growing network of almost 700. Giorgia is also tackling other children’s waste issues, recently hosting a Halloween costume and decoration swap in Fitzgerald Park.

Now her sights are set on creating a more circular Christmas and, like all academics, she is eager to measure the results.

“We will measure the impact of the campaign by calculating deflected CO2, as well as the approximate amount of plastic recirculated (in KGs).”

While it is more difficult to quantify than the reduced carbon emissions, The Toy Library delivers much more than a reduction of carbon footprint and plastic waste. It brings excitement to children with toys that are new to them.

Parents benefit from rehoming toys cluttering up their homes on a convenient platform and sourcing them for free. The face-to-face events provide a unique and free opportunity for children and adults alike to build community connections and for new friendships to blossom.

Giorgia has clear goals for replacing the outdated linear model of toy consumption, and the upcoming Christmas campaign has a pivotal role in driving awareness of the Toy Library and its many benefits.

Giorgia’s Christmas wish is for the Toy Library to achieve critical mass.

My vision is that three years from now, before getting a new toy, every family thinks, let’s check The Toy Library first.

MORE ABOUT THE TOY LIBRARY

Ireland’s first digital Toy Library has received funding from Rethink Ireland and Cork City Council to drive transformative change for communities. Led by Giorgia Anile, PhD student in Human-Computer Interaction, funded by SFI ADVANCE CRT at UCC School of Applied Psychology, the Toy Library is designed to provide a sustainable and cost-effective solution to help reduce the waste problem of toys for families, local authorities and communities across Ireland.

For more on The Toy Library, see www.thetoylibrary.ie/