Facewind
Starffy
This is a project about soft toys, second-hand market, circular economy, and human-product relationship.
The core is: The lifespan and value of plush toys are threatened by hygiene, safety, and standardization issues. They are not included in the services we buy, but they have been, or are, or will soon be, seriously hindering the continuation of a promising relationship.
Context
Comparable to fashion, plush toys are constructed with similar workmanship and materials; areas that are seriously neglected by sustainable forces. Plush toys are hard to recycle, and people easily establish an intimate emotional connection with them, which makes it very difficult to let go of. This leads to a common phenomenon: there are a large number of plush toys hoarded in people's homes (especially those with children) from hundreds to even thousands.
Social experiment | Self-ethnography
But hoarding isn't a solution, it's more likely people's hesitation and procrastination towards a product that is about to enter the next stage of its life cycle - the landfill.
We launched a social experiment called "Shopping Your Home", calling on participants to search every corner of their room with a shopping basket, collecting products that have been idle for a long time, or even forgotten. We invite them to share their reflections and hopes for the future of these hoards. Surprisingly, almost all of our participants end up this self-exploration with keeping the products they found, which means, there is already a relationship that can not be easily ended between the owners and their unremarkable items.
And we found that the end of hoarding will always be indifferent to discarding, especially when they are moving home, and the scarce, monotonous and cumbersome recycling and utilisation system can seldom meet people's expectations for value exchange.
Negative impact
Countless plush toys have been left idle for a long time, which represents a waste of 'life'; and they will eventually be thrown into landfills without any other options, which represents environmental pollution.
Plush toys are usually made of a variety of materials, such as wool, nylon, plastic, etc., and commonly used polyester fibers take about two hundred years to be degraded by soil. Therefore, the sustainability of plush toys, especially the extension of their service life or ‘life value’, is necessary and vital.
The reality looks ridiculous and pathetic, so we felt
Soft toys are in desperate need of sustainable intervention.
Research
Analysis
&Definition
Around three key stakeholders: children, parents, and practitioners who are committed to continuing the value of plush toys, we conducted a series of field investigations through our connections in adventure playgrounds, charity shops, toy stores, and business disciplines.
From this we captured some insights, based on which we defined the core problem.
Useful links:
Joe Macleod & And End;
Marie Kondo says she’s ‘kind of given up’ on cleaning;
Creating a circular economy for toys.
Residents
From our research with parents, we found that there are basically two types of plush toys at home, and the first one is called Resident, which means the one we fall in love with.
For the residents, actually parents do want to keep those toys for a long time, to keep the intimacy between children and their soft friends. But the continuation of the relationship is hindered by parents not knowing how to keep them intact, clean and especially childsafe. So after a period of messy cleaning or repairing, those beloved plush toys quickly become different from what they used to be, such as fading, losing hair, losing shape, etc, far from being as glamorous as before. Thus they finally go to the bin.
Passers-by
The second type is called Passers-by, which are those who have just been played for a little while. They actually take up a large part of their soft assets.
Parents do want to get rid of them, and most importantly, they want to feel good letting go of them. But a rewarding farewell experience is hindered by people, especially the next owner's hygiene, safety and standardisation concerns.
Charity shops and some school based recycling projects of course can bring value exchange, but the key insight we defined when we were volunteers at Crisis and Octavia is that the second-hand market does not welcome plush toys, partly because cleaning and sanitizing are time & resource-consuming; on the other hand, buyers will be wary of used plush toys because they have no packaging, labels, or look new.
Intersection | Problem definition
Here we can see an intersection: Hygiene, Safety and Standardisation. They are not included in the services we buy, but they have been, or are, or will soon be, seriously hindering the continuation of a good relationship.
Bigger problem
We learned this diagram from Joe Macleod, an expert in designing endings for business. According to him, we had a wonderful, rich and industrialised starting experience, but what about the closure experience? The off-boarding is now barren of emotion and meaning. To put it simple, we all know how to start, but hardly know how to end.
Closure in narratives attempts to preserve the moral and social order. Whether it is a novel, a play or a movie, they are all stories, as long as they are stories, they should have a beginning and an end. Only by facing up to the importance of closure experience can we honestly meet human-product relationships and master the ability to improve these relationships.
Disappointingly, a lot of businesses are only halfway through the narrative, and that's the bigger problem we're defining.
So, how might we bring hygiene, safety and standardisation
into the service narrative of plush toys to reinvigorate and extend their lifespan?
Strategy
&Solution
In order to refine the strategy and even get a specific design plan, we once again "asked for help" from the parents to c0-create on solutions while drawing as detailed a plush toy-centric landscape as possible.
We organized a workshop at a family session in the Three Corners Adventure Playground in Islington, inviting parents to join in and quickly test our various ideas.
In the meantime, we got in touch with Yiying Wang from Noodoll (toys company), Nikki Gaddo who founded Goodmine, and Wendy Phillips, the CEO of Toy Safety Expert. They all provide us with theoretical support in terms of the hygiene and safety of toys.
So, introduce our magic...
Useful links:
Three Corners Adventure Playground;
Noodoll & Yiying Wang;
Goodmine & Nikki Gaddo;
For residents
For those beloved stuffed toys, how might we empower parents with the knowledge, resources, and capabilities to consistently maintain the optimal condition, cleanliness, and child safety of children's beloved furry companions?
We delivered this rough idea to a few parents, and here are some feedbacks:
'May I just have some annotations of those laundry symbols? Cause I am worried about whether they will be washed out or faded'. 'Can I do this with just my everyday tools? I want something that is really accessible'. 'May I have some child-safe and natural products? Cause I am always worried about the dangers of detergents to my kids’.
So we can see that what parents need is not extra professional and detailed advice, but some simple, immediately actionable tips. And for the product, the child-safe detergents are really needed.
For passers-by
For those pre-loved stuffies, how might we develop a seamless off-boarding service that guarantees hygiene, safety, and a rewarding transition for used stuffed toys, facilitating their acceptance and suitability for new owners seeking to provide them with a second life?
We once built a third-party store called Stuffy Salon, which offered services on plush toys: cleaning, repairing, recycling, and reselling. Although our parents asked us excitedly: Where is this store? However, considering cost issue and other practicability, we still chose to do micro-intervention on existing services.
If the core is 'guarantee', like a seal of inspection, can we promote the establishment of cooperation between toy companies and second-hand stores, and use the brand's reputation, authority, and professional care methods to invisibly certify the hygiene and safety of their partner shops?
Presentation | Starffy
To summarise, Starffy is using its expertise in hygiene and safety to reinvent the future of stuffed toys.
Not just for children, we also make the well-being of plush toys no longer a challenge.
Impact
&Future
We hope to use Starffy to complement the second half of the plush toy business narrative, so that it has a beginning as well as an end. One gains clarity, order and healthy relationships over doubt, hesitation and waste.
Taking good care of the products you love deeply and saying goodbye to those former loves happily are also a sustainable way of development.
Direct effect
If you need some simple tips, Starffy can help; if you need some kid-friendly tools, Starffy can provide; If you want to say goodbye to your stuffed animals and wish them well, Starffy can show you the clear path.
Starffy, a groundbreaking project, aims to bridge the information gaps among toy companies, consumers, and second-hand businesses, ultimately revolutionising the reuse of stuffed toys. By facilitating the attachment and delivery of caring information from companies to consumers, Starffy ensures that products come with comprehensive care instructions. Additionally, Starffy guarantees hygiene, fostering trust between consumers and second-hand businesses. This trust enables more pre-loved toys to find their next loving home.
Vision | Starffy League
And together, we are establishing Starffy League. It draws a future landscape of enhanced customer loyalty, extended service chains, and social accountability for toy companies. Moreover, the project empowers second-hand businesses to gain professionalism, expand their reach, and earn consumers' trust. With its focus on hygiene, safety, and easier customer care, Starffy paves the way for a more sustainable future by extending the lifespan of plush toys.
Moving forward
We have taken this final proposal to our stakeholders for validation.
Nikki is a mother who is running her own business in the second-hand market. She said that the information we provide about the caring of stuffed toy would be valuable and helpful.
Wendy is a Toy Safety Expert, and she told us that in fact, many current second-hand toy businesses do not meet the safety and hygiene standard set by the regulations, and starffy will help to fill this gap.
And Yiying, founder of an independent stuffed toy company in the UK, said her company is also trying to extend the serving life of products, and starffy will give her a new direction to explore. We are currently building an on-going partnership with her and are keen to turn this project into practice.
Redefining sustainability
Sustainability encompasses more than just saving, environmental protection, or new energy. While these terms have adorned countless green organisations' websites, have they truly influenced our everyday lives? This project aims to convey a powerful message: by embracing and caring for cherished possessions, joyfully bidding farewell to assets we no longer love, and nurturing all relationships with an active and progressive approach, we embrace a model that aligns harmoniously with the laws of natural development. This sustainable way of life seamlessly intertwines with our daily existence, forming a meaningful and interconnected tapestry.
Attach emotion on things but not extreme love or hate on things. As a poem from China:
It is the infinite treasure that nature has for both of us to enjoy.
Epilogue
The biggest highlight of this project for me is that it gave me a deep understanding of the ending experience, which I had never considered or even known before.
In addition, it pushed me to read books, such as the works of Marie Kondo and Joe Macleod; it helped me deepen my reflection on people-product relationship and mechanisms of influence between man and the environment; and my communication and research skills have also greatly benefited from my frequent contact with different fields and practitioners.
Useful links:
Linkedin of Richard Atkinson;
Linkedin of Jada Lu.
Our journey
In the past six months, our research and design process has been supported by many excellent practitioners from various fields, such as Kamalini Ramdas (London Business School), Joe Macleod (AndEnd), Yiying Wang (Noodoll), Nikki Gaddo (Goodmine), Wendy Phillips (Toy Safety Experts), Andrei Cornea and 3 other staff (Three Corners Adventure Playground), Fred Wordie, etc. We would like to express our sincere thanks for their enthusiasm and help.
Special thanks
Firstly, special thanks to Judah Armani for his effective advice from a social impact and public service perspective.
Then, we would like to deliver a special tribute to our tutor, Richard Atkinson, for his knowledge, kindness, patience, and sincerity.
Finally, here is my personal thanks to my dear teammate, Jada(Lu) Ye, for her intelligence, kindness, straightforwardness, and ability to complement mine.