When I launched thelittleloop at the beginning of the first lockdown, I couldn’t have imagined that, just a year later, it would be named one of the UK’s most Extraordinary Small Businesses. But here we are, and we couldn’t be prouder.
Thelittleloop is the UK’s first shared-wardrobe for kids aged 18 months to 7 years (and growing). Our mission is to create a world without children’s clothing waste. Did you know there are 183 million items of baby clothes stashed in people’s homes?
The solution
Children grow, and time-strapped parents often can’t keep up with their clothing needs – it costs a fortune, wastes precious time, and creates a ton of waste. So, in late 2019, I set about creating a solution, right here in TW.
With our service, parents can choose exactly the clothes they need, keep them as long as they like and then swap them – anytime – for new ones. On average they save two thirds of the cost of buying new and 83% of the carbon footprint.
Challenging times
It sounds so simple, but it hasn’t been an easy road. Launching at the beginning of a pandemic meant working round the clock while looking after my small daughters at home with no childcare! But there was no alternative – we’d partnered with our brands, got their beautiful stock, and couldn’t afford to let them down. It was now or never.
Something we didn’t anticipate was that the pandemic made it hard to convince parents to change their habits. They already had so many things on their plate. So, over the last year we’ve introduced free insurance, a low-cost monthly subscription, and more amazing brands to make it even easier for parents to jump onboard. And recently I was joined by a new co-founder, Suzi Avens, a local mum and former director of womenswear at Boden.
We don’t underestimate the challenge at hand. We’re doing something really different and asking our amazing customers to do the same. That’s what Natwest tell us they saw in our application to their Extraordinary Small Business Competition – that we weren’t afraid to take the hard path.
And it’s our wonderful customers who keep us true to that path. Receiving notes thanking us for what we’re doing because we’re making their lives so much easier is the most incredible feeling.
We’re so excited for what lies ahead.
Charlotte Morley is the founder of thelittleloop.