Whether it’s their toys, pacifiers, or even a security blanket, children tend to outgrow a lot of things over a span of time. But nothing can compare to how quickly children outgrow clothing.
The average one-year-old can go through as many as five size ranges between the ages of 0-12 months. Factor in some growth spurts in the form of height or weight gain and parents can find themselves sizing up clothing within a matter of weeks.
While a baby registry can cover most parents for the initial few months of infancy, nothing can prepare them for the number of clothes they can go through with a growing child. Fortunately, therein lies an economical yet eco-friendly solution: secondhand children’s clothing, and these days, secondhand doesn’t mean second best.
Note that this content was made in partnership with Bounce Mkt. Opinions are our own, and as always we only partner with brands that meet strict sustainability criteria we love, and that we think you’ll love too!
Bounce Mkt is a children’s resale boutique where you can buy and sell pre-loved clothing for infants and children up to size 8. All the secondhand clothes they carry, go through rigorous quality checks to ensure every item is in excellent condition with few (if any) visible signs of wear. Parents can expect to buy clothes that come in gently-used or like-new condition for much less than what a brand-new item would cost.
Let’s take a closer look at how Bounce Mkt makes secondhand shopping feel like a breeze and ensures every parent gets a bang for their buck — and even helps put some back in their wallet.
Buy pre-loved, sell what’s used, and let them handle the rest
Gone are the days when secondhand marketplaces were a hassle to sift through in order to find something nice. With curated collections around themes like “Classic”, “Playful”, “Dressy”, “Sporty”, and “Neutral” (for unisex items), you can be sure to find something adorable for your little one to meet a wide variety of needs, and interests.
Eco-minded parents can rest assured knowing that Bounce Mkt favors stocking items from many brands that are known for quality and durability. Quality pieces last longer, making them the better sustainable choice, and buying from Bounce Mkt, makes buying quality pieces easier on your wallet.
The items listed at Bounce Mkt, are an absolute steal with prices starting at an affordable $3 for a sweatshirt and going up to $90 for a (3-6M size) Burberry dress. The inexpensive price tags are by no means a reflection of the state of their clothing. Bounce Mkt takes the following measures to ensure every single item passes their three-step quality control process to make sure they are wearable and clean:
Step 1: Evaluating the condition
Every item received is evaluated for wear and tear, after which only the ones with zero damage and little to no signs of previous use are selected. Clothing with visible signs of damage, stains, fading, pilling, missing buttons, or an odor is not accepted for sale, but can be donated or recycled.
Step 2: Checked for safety
All items are checked against the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall database. These assessments include checking for choking hazards like loose drawstrings on hoodies for young children.
Step 3: Cleaned to meet hygiene standards
All clothing items are professionally laundered or dry cleaned, with the exception of brand new items with tags.
These rigorous levels of evaluation will also apply if you’re interested in selling some of your kid’s used clothing at Bounce Mkt. Once the items are received via a local pick up (or after you dropped off the gently used items), Bounce Mkt will take about a week to assess the items received before they reach out to you by email with an offer to buy the items they think their customers will love.
Sellers are given the option to choose to receive their payout through check or store credit. Should you choose to receive your pay-out as a check, they offer one-third of the price that the item will be listed at and if you wish to receive the pay-out as a store credit you can receive half the amount of the listing price.
What makes Bounce Mkt different from a regular consignment shop is that your items will be bought outright and paid for (in your chosen payout method) as soon as the item is accepted. Whereas consignment pay-outs are only received if and when the item sells, which is uncertain and can take a very long time. This can be a highly economical option for parents who wish to save some money and gain something out of their clothing they no longer use..
That being said, not all children’s clothing can be maintained in near-mint condition after multiple wears. In such cases, Bounce Mkt sends unsellable clothes over to their recycling partner HELPSY, a for-profit B Corp. While unsold items from their existing inventory are eventually given to local not-for-profit organizations that support vulnerable families.
Recirculation as a means of conscious consumption
At its root, sustainability relies on the careful use of resources, and very few methods demonstrate this intent as much as the reusability of clothing. Practices like reusing and recycling help slow down the linear course of materials through the system by intercepting and diverting used resources away from the landfills and back into the system.
By keeping clothes in circulation in face of rising consumption levels and disposal, Bounce Mkt is not only helping conserve a vast amount of resources needed to create new items, but also preventing clothes from ending up in landfills.
By encouraging consumers to sell used clothing, and also buy secondhand, resale marketplaces like Bounce Mkt, indirectly help consumers close the fashion loop and help them actively engage in the circular economy.
At Bounce Mkt, discover a range of highly covetable and cute children’s pre-loved clothing for boys and girls, along with a dedicated range of gender-neutral items and shoes up to children’s size 12.
*If you reside in Hoboken, New Jersey, you can choose to schedule a free pickup to resell your kid’s gently used clothing or visit their workshop to drop them off in person and shop in-store.
About The Author:
Jharna Pariani is a fashion writer and creative strategist whose work is rooted in honesty and deep observation of the world around her. When she isn’t busy penning down her thoughts, she moonlights as a video editor creating fashion and food reels on Instagram for several brands and influencers
