Thanks to an inquisitive son and a playful mother, many Swedish children will soon have a chance to learn more about the environment, sustainable consumption and global interdependence, all through the use of games and toys.
Soledad Piñero Misa launched the Retoy toy library concept after a conversation with her son about sustainability. Photo: Pontus Lindahl/Scanpix
“Retoy was born out of a conversation I had with my son, who was then four,” says project founder Soledad Piñero Misa. “We were talking about fair trade products and he wondered why everything wasn’t fair trade and ecological, when it was so much better for both the environment and people. I started pondering how information about the consequences of our actions might be spread to other children.”
Soledad, who lives in Stockholm, had long wanted to work out in the world with children living in refugee camps. But this was difficult to reconcile with family life.
“So I began wondering what I could do here at home to start with, something that could benefit children in other parts of the world. All children like to play, wherever they may be. Also, I still like to play myself — play is highly creative, and I can use this creativity in my entrepreneurship.”
Toy library for children
Retoy creates space where children can play together while at the same time learning about their rights and about the way people interact with their environment. Retoy functions as a toy library where children can borrow toys to take home, give away old ones for re-use and take part in instructive Retoylabs activities.
To make Retoy a reality, Soledad began contacting organizations in the business, public and voluntary sectors. Fairly soon, she was collaborating with such disparate partners as the Stockholm City Library, UNICEF and Hugo Stenbeck’s Foundation.
“I looked around for people who could serve as good role models, and pretty soon came across Sara Damber, Operations Manager at Hugo Stenbeck’s Foundation.”
Hoping to spread it round the world
The foundation is supporting Soledad in her endeavor, and not just with funding. They have an equally important role as a sounding board and a source of inspiration.
“Developing Retoy in a social perspective has been simple,” says Soledad, “but now we’ve got to show that you can also generate a profit in a social enterprise.”
The next step for Soledad is to develop a franchise concept for the toy libraries, and she is hoping the idea will have caught on internationally within two years. First, however, Sweden's inaugural toy library will open in Hammarby Sjöstad, Stockholm, in 2010.
Johanna Ögren
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