UK resident Charlotte Liebling realized a few years ago that countless numbers of used stuffed animals were contributing to the world’s landfills, and she had a brilliant idea about how to reduce that waste. She began a not-for-profit called Loved Before to rehabilitate used stuffed animals and get them sold to a whole new generation of children. Liebling got the brilliant idea to characterize her company as an adoption agency for soft toys, and the stuffie donations started rolling in.

The toys go through a meticulous deep cleaning before they are “re-homed.” Liebling is working to change the public’s perception of pre-owned items.

“As a society, we teach the message of embracing imperfections and the things that make us different. That’s all that second-hand is – shared memories and a load of love that has been poured into it.”

Those efforts to shift the public’s ideas about recycled toys has clearly been very successful. So successful, in fact, that the Loved Before brand now has permanent stands in a number of high-traffic Selfridge stores.

You can learn more about Loved Before on their website and on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook.