Spotlight: Lego's Sustainability Initiatives

Legos: these amazing toys can be a blank slate for building anything your imagination can dream up to providing nearly architectural schematics for the most intricate of collectable designs. They are popular for all ages and have been for many generations. This means there are billions of bricks, mini figures, and specialty pieces circulating out there, yet you can still spend an astronomical price on new sets. Some examples: the smallest kit, the size of a box of animal crackers, now starts at $15. A medium sized tub of Classic Legos (formerly known as Legos 😉 ) will contain a few hundred basic bricks and set you back at least $40. 

And then there are the specialty kits, ranging from famous buildings to Star Wars, which cost several hundreds of dollars.

Between the sheer cost of these tiny plastic pieces, and the existence of decades of previous sets, it just makes sense to clean and recirculate them. 

If you have Legos you want to get rid of:

DONATE through Lego Replay. You can print a pre-paid shipping label from Lego, who will forward them to organizations like "Teach For America" and "Boys and Girls Club of Boston". Don't forget to reuse a box for shipment! This is such a great option, because you know the toys will get to kids who will use them, vs. hoping they'll sell at a reuse store like Goodwill. They actually partner with Give Back Box to make this happen, which has programs for several other types of items as well. Through this program, they've already recirculated almost 600,000 pounds of Legos, benefiting 100,000 children.

SELL through any marketplace, such as eBay, Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, etc. They seem to sell for an average of $10/lb for bulk bricks and at a higher rate for small lots of specialty pieces or complete kits, so you could recoup some of your investment while making the pieces more affordable for those who purchase. 

If you have Legos you want to acquire:

 

BUY through any marketplace: For the same reasons as listed above, folks may be trying to recoup some costs, and you can benefit. For $10, you can definitely get started before investing in specialty kits, or you may just score that coveted collectible kit at a discount. In any case, you can save some $$, keep existing pieces from the landfill, and new pieces from being created from new plastic. 

 

BUY new plant-themed Legos: Lego is testing out new materials besides virgin petroleum-based plastic, and the first items they've made from their sugarcane-derived plastic are the plant-like pieces, cleverly named Plants from Plants. So starting adding more flora to round out your collection.

Launched in 2018, these trees and leafy pieces only represent 2% of the building blocks they offer, but are a first step to some of their longer term initiatives: 1) By 2025, they've committed to sustainable packaging, and 2) by 2030, they've committed to pieces made out of either renewal bio-plastics (like these sugarcane pieces) or post-consumer plastics, such as water bottles.

Kudos to Lego for taking these goals!

Do you or your kids have a Lego addiction? How much could you save or make by buying and selling used?

Cash for Costumes

As you've seen by now from previous years' posts, I love a good Halloween costume, and I enjoy trying something new each year. The average pre-packaged costume costs about $60, is poorly constructed, uncomfortably polyester, and comes in difficult sizes like S/M. From swapping (that time I was a chicken) to thrifting (Eleven) to DIY (Ursula), you can enjoy some really creative looks that are more tailored to you and more original.

This year, my friend Anna inspired me to be a rock lobster, of the B-52s song. Due to the "unique" needs of the costume, I was able to purchase some items used while some were new.

I was pretty happy with the end result:

Ideally, I would purchase used, wear it, and then re-donate it or sell it, meaning the item gets maximum usage from people before and after me. I write frequently about how buying used saves me money up front, but I haven't talked about how much you can recoup from selling items.

Just a few days after Halloween, I've already sold 2 pieces of my costume, made back $25, and I'm not done yet! I highly recommend giving this a try, especially for those pieces you don't envision re-purposing for other costumes. I sold these on Facebook marketplace. Other online choices include Poshmark, thredUP, and Swap.com, and of course, there are local brick and mortar shops. Each varies in model: some you can sell your items directly to the store, while others will pay you when the item sells, while others you do the work of selling and they simply give you a place to list. The amount to be made is directly proportional to the effort you put in; that is, the more work the store does, the higher their commission.

Here are some of the key pieces of my costume:

1. Fierce rocker boots. Retails for $36 new, purchased for $22 used, resold for $15. Total cost $7/savings $29.

 

2. Shredded pleather leggings. Cost $20 new, resold for $10. Total cost $10/savings $10. 

3. Calvin Klein silver leather jacket. This one is a keeper! Retail cost $160, bought used for $34, savings $126.

Total savings: $165. $140 from purchasing used, and $25 recouped from resale.

While I love selling for costumes, which are typically more "disposable" than other types of clothing, don't limit yourself. Selling is a great option for any items that still have life in them.