For some, the start of the year means many things: Summer holidays, beach swims, backyard bbqs with friends. For others, it’s the perfect opportunity to get organised for the year ahead – and sorting through clothes and shoes that the kids have outgrown seems to be a perennial on the mum to-do list. Add to that list donating unwanted Christmas presents and the first few months of the year seems like the perfect time to declutter wardrobes and replenish as required.
But, with green living top of mind for many Inner West families, the adage “out with the old and in with the new” seems not just old-fashioned, but environmentally unsustainable. And discarding clothes that the kids have outgrown, but are still perfectly wearable, feels a bit irresponsible.
Enter To The Moon in Summer Hill Village – a pre-loved kids clothing store that takes the hassle out of selling and buying pre-loved clothing with a dash of op-shop charm and vintage fashion flair.
The Inner West Mums dropped in at To The Moon to chat with owners and mums Jessica and Alison about how parents can de-clutter their kids’ wardrobes and earn a little bit extra in the process.
To The Moon is a pre-loved kids clothing exchange store and our goal is two-fold. We want to make it easy for parents to sell good quality clothing that their kids have outgrown and for other parents to find the items in the sizes they need – all whilst reducing our footprint on the planet. Why? Many mums tell us it feels like they’re constantly sorting through their kids’ wardrobes, removing clothes that no longer fit and then replacing that gap in their kids’ wardrobe. Unsurprisingly this can really add to a mum’s mental load.
At To The Moon we want to simplify that process – by receiving and selling pre-loved kid’s clothing in sizes from newborn all the way to size 12. To make it even easier for parents, we take some of the guesswork out of the process and select items based on their condition, what’s popular and what’s in season. That means we tend not to accept or sell winter clothes at the height of summer, because let’s be honest, how many people are thinking about jumpers when it’s 40 degrees?
We also accept shoes, hats, swimwear in good condition, and baby sleep sacks. We don’t take toys, books or baby carriers.
For parents interested in selling their pre-loved items, once we’ve made our selection, we’ll give them 40% of the total resale value in store credit or 25% in cash. It’s their choice. We want to give mums and carers something back straight away, so they don’t need to wait for their item to sell to receive their store credit or cash. Our sellers get it upfront. Best of all, the store credits don’t expire, so they can keep shopping with us as their kids grow.
We’ve always loved buying pre-loved clothing for ourselves – it’s not just environmentally sustainable but we’ve found it encourages more individuality and self-expression. But when we became mums and tried to buy quality pre-loved clothing for our children, we realised it wasn’t a fun experience and it was also incredibly time consuming.
What we wanted was an experience similar to our favourite pre-loved clothing stores. A warm and inviting ‘bricks and mortar’ store that delivers fun and convenient shopping with unique and good quality pre-loved clothing. And when we couldn’t find that, we decided to create it ourselves.
As we love the experience of shopping in-store, it was important that we created an actual store with a fun atmosphere enjoyable for both mums and kids. For little ones, we have kid-sized chairs and tables along with toys, paper, crayons and pencils so they can keep themselves entertained whilst mum browses – although some kids do like to get involved in choosing their own clothes!
Our goal was to create a unique pre-loved shop – think a ‘designer’ op-shop with good quality, distinctive products and the convenience of an online store minus the hassle of dodgy buyers and sellers!
We’re Inner Westies ourselves and love this part of Sydney. In fact, we considered a few suburbs in the Inner West when looking for a store location, but the Summer Hill Village really stood out for its strong community and welcoming, family-friendly vibe. The locals who we’ve met are incredibly supportive, which is crucial for a small business like ours. Shortly after we opened, Summer Hill Village was voted ‘Sydney’s Favourite High Street’ by the Urban Design Association – we couldn’t agree more and we truly appreciate the special nature of Summer Hill Village.
If making more sustainable choices is one of your New Year’s resolutions, visit Jessica and Alison at To The Moon. With easy access by train, light rail and bus, as well as ample parking and a plethora of great cafes, family-friendly restaurants and welcoming wine bars, come and discover for yourself why Summer Hill Village is Sydney’s Favourite High Street.
Looking for more second-hand and pre-loved clothing stores? Check out this article on op-shops across the Inner West. Or if you want to check out more Summer Hill stores – read our interview with The Yesterday Shop in Summer Hill Village here.
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Have you bought or sold pre-loved kids clothing? 👚 Leave a comment below and share your experience and tips for other mums in our community 😊