The Rediscovery Centre is excited to announce a collaboration with Jiminy Eco Toys, Ireland’s sustainable toy shop!

As part of The Big Toy Swap, Jiminy and the Rediscovery Centre will run 100 fun, interactive workshops for primary schools and youth groups across Ireland.

 

The Toy Industry

Have you ever thought about the sustainability of a toy?

A toy’s start-of-life is highly polluting. Ellen MacArthur estimates humanity’s use of petro-plastic (not just in toys) contributes 6% of global carbon emissions. Toys is the world’s most plastic-intensive industry, with 90% made from virgin petro-plastic. Most toys then travel 22,000km to us from China. All emitting so much CO2 it’s equivalent to permanently deforesting 1 billion trees.

A toy’s mid-life is hit-and-miss. The average child under 12 in Ireland receives €450 per year of new toys. How many hours does each get used? Some studies show toys set-aside within a month.

A toy’s end-of-life is a waste problem for families, local authorities, and charity shops. It’s socially-unacceptable to re-gift a used toy, and charity shops often decline soft toy donations. Most toys are mixed-material so not recyclable, and the small minority of toys that do get “recycled” actually get downcycled into park benches etc.

 

The Big Toy Swap

Children love their toys, and their planet. They don’t want one to pollute the other, so Jiminy Eco Toys and the Rediscovery Centre have joined forces to empower kids to team-up and take action through The Big Toy Swap!

As part of this project, we’re delighted to offer 100 fun, interactive workshops for primary schools and youth groups across Ireland. The workshop is suitable for children of 3rd to 6th class ages, and links with the curriculum in a range of subjects including Science, Maths and Geography.

When groups sign-up to a Big Toy Swap Workshop, they’re committing to host a Big Toy Swap in their school or local community space, joining schools and groups all across the country in the largest sustainable toy festival ever seen!

Schools will be equipped with comprehensive resources to host their own Big Toy Swap, including how-to guides on toy swap and repair, event organisation, and curriculum integration, plus practical resources like printable posters and images/blurbs for school newsletters.

The goal of the Big Toy Swap is to provide a fun and sustainable way for children and families to refresh their toy collections without spending money on new toys, and at the same time to reduce waste by giving unwanted toys a new home.

After the Big Toy Swap, groups send-in their Big Toy Swap postcard, documenting how many lucky toys were re-homed, to be in with a chance of winning a very special prize… to be revealed!

 

*Please note: We have a limited number of workshops available, so book now to reserve your place.