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CNET NEWS.COM: As kids grow out of their clothes, beds and toys (at what often feels like a daily rate) it's easy to find your home cluttered with unwanted baby products. But instead of hanging on to what the kids have outgrown, green parents are now shipping off those baby slings and monitors to other parents through Zwaggle.com.
Zwaggle.com helps members donate a product like a crib or baby monitor, and in return, earn points to pick up something else that they might want for little cost. Members pay only for shipping for the desired item.
Exchange sites are nothing new -- Amazon and eBay have been changing the way people unload unwanted goods for years, not to mention niche sites like GardenSwapShop.co.uk or (for clothes swap fans) Swishing. Yet today, more sites are playing into the green movement, encouraging people to make environmental or socially conscious choices.
Freecycle.org, for example, started in 2003 to help people "gift" unwanted stuff to strangers and help keep the landfills free of items that could easily be reused. Now the site has more than 4,000 local Yahoo groups, whose 4 million-plus members give away goods in 75 countries. As a result, the nonprofit said that it keeps more than 300 tons of stuff out of landfills per day, thanks to all of the donations from member to member.
Analysts believe the concept should catch on more broadly, but maybe for a less noble reason. "I think [recycle programs] are something every e-commerce site should incorporate," said Allen Weiner, an analyst at research firm Gartner Research. "No. 1, it raises their profile in terms of being green and socially conscious. And No. 2, it gives people the ability to clear out and buy more stuff."
Privately funded Zwaggle, based in San Francisco, was founded last year by two guys who don't have kids. Andrew Hoag, an engineer and co-founder, said that at the time, he was surrounded by friends and family having children and noticed all of the extra stuff they accumulated but didn't necessarily use. For that reason, the idea seemed like a no-brainer.
"There's this massive, passive inventory of kids' stuff already being Zwaggle'd in the real world," Hoag said. On the Web, he said, more people can find each other. He and his partner, Adam Levy, launched the site for friends and family in spring 2007, followed by a public launch in August. So far, it has roughly 2,000 members.
The company makes money by collecting fees from the shipping cost of items. For example, if a baby monitor costs a member $10 to ship across the country, Zwaggle would collect roughly 50 cents on the donation of that item -- or 5-7 per cent of its cost.
Hoag said that the company also plans to eventually sell new products on the site that people can't find on the used site or would prefer to buy new. In addition, the company will soon sell gift cards preloaded with points for new parents who want to pick up used items on the site, but don't yet have things to share. "We want to make Zwaggle the first choice where people go to outfit their kids, and do it in a socially responsible way," he said.
Still, the site needs to grow its membership to make easier eco-friendly practices like local pickups and drop-offs, instead of shipping. So why not check it out now -- or even better start your own swap-shop with friends or in your local area.
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