A More Sustainable Option For Dressing Kids
Local consignment business off to a good start
Rebecca Loyo Mayo believes in sustainability — and that extends to the clothes on your back.
So after having a frustrating experience trying to find second-hand clothes for her children, she decided she would start her own company.
Re.Be Kids is an online consignment store with a local angle. Loyo Mayo says her business is rooted in the belief that "every garment passed on is one less new item produced, one more story shared, and one small step toward a healthier fashion ecosystem."
The site is loaded with gently-used kids clothes at bargain prices, and for those who have a Lions Bay or West Vancouver shipping address, postage is free.
Loyo Mayo curates the clothes she sells in a five-level system from "brand-new with tags" through "like new" and "pre-loved" down to "well-worn", and the clothes are priced accordingly. Customers can consign their own clothes or just shop from the online collection of bargains.
"I've worked in sustainability all my career and when I had children I was so frustrated that it wasn't easier to find second-hand kids clothes without visiting a physical store or driving around to pick up Facebook market place finds," Loyo Mayo says. "I feel passionately that there is so much more value in most of the clothes we buy — especially kids clothes. They grow out of them so quickly."
Loyo Mayo is English, and she took the British online consignment company 'Vinted' as her inspiration.
In fact, Vinted did try to establish itself here in Canada, but Loyo Mayo says they couldn't make a go of it. She's patterned her company after the same model, but with a more local market.
"Like many things in Canada, I find that some of the operational challenges of such a large country with a comparatively small population is the perfect petri dish for small businesses to thrive locally," she says. And business is taking off, with orders coming in from as far away as Ontario and California.
"I know I have the right product," she says, adding that she finds people are very interested in good quality, pre-loved clothes.
"I recently held a really fun personal shopping morning with a five-year old in the Village. I took round 10 dresses in her size and she picked the ones she liked. She has baby twin brothers and it's not easy for her mum to get out so this was a perfect fit."
In addition to her website, Loyo Mayo features the latest available fashions on her Instagram page HERE.
She says she's especially eager to meet local parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who are interested in sustainable fashion for the children in their lives.
"This is a great platform for parents who are time-poor and don't want to buy new clothes all the time — whether it's for financial or environmental reasons."
Editor's note: This is another in our series profiling local small businesses that might be of interest to readers in Lions Bay and throughout the Sea to Sky region. If you know a small business that might fit the bill, contact editor@lionsbaywatershed.ca
The Watershed values your opinion-
Share your thoughts below, or email editor@lionsbaywatershed.ca
Like what you're reading?
For as little as $5/month, you can support local independent journalism
by subscribing to The Watershed HERE.
Comments