Plum has not only a great idea, but a great motto: "Think of us as the Netflix for baby clothes," and that pretty much sums up the website's mission: Rent baby clothes — but no, not ones that have been super-pooped in — and return them when you're done.
Here's how it works: The relatively new site is a subscription-based baby boutique of sorts, carrying brands like Egg Baby, Kate Quinn Organics, Petit Bateau and Tea Collection. For $16 a month, you can rent two outfits; $29 a month for four; and $49 a month for seven.
"You can send them back anytime you'd like within three months. We'll send you a new bundle," the site says. Also promised: "Our bundles are always freshly laundered in 7th Generation laundry products, the greenest and healthiest on the market, and we pack them with a little sachet of organic lavender to keep them smelling lovely."
Stain issues? "We're moms and we know how it goes: accidents happen. Send them back with the bundle. We'll either donate them to foster care, or use the fabric that's still in great shape in hand-crafted baby gifts. No charge to you!"
Outfits ship via regular mail, with one "free round-trip" a month included in a subscription.
Caroline O'Connor, the brains behind Plum, writes on the site that she had a few inspirations for the idea:
'There's got to be a better way,' I thought, while sifting through piles of gifts and hand-me-downs. My first baby is due in October, and amidst the excitement I wondered how I'll ever handle all this ... stuff. The idea for Plum was born as I explained to my husband the ideal solution: If someone could drop matched bundles of my favorite brands at my door in the right sizes, already laundered with organic products. Then I thought: "Good grief, why isn't someone already doing this?" I decided that someone could be me.
And, her own mother is a foster care mom for infants: "The babies who come to her are as young as just a few days old. They may stay for a few weeks or a few months. Not only does she want the best for the babies in her care, she buys them clothes so that they have something when they leave her care." Of course, O'Connor says, "There are thousands of other foster parents like her around the country."
Baby clothes that "just can't be saved — moms, you know what I mean — we use scraps from to create gifts onesies." O'Connor says all proceeds from the sales go to Foster Care Alumni of America, "which helps foster kids successfully transition into adulthood."
Before she started Plum, O'Connor said she was a fellow at Stanford's Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, "teaching graduate students and executives a human-centered approach to designing innovation. Who knew," she adds, "it could also work for baby clothes?"
— Via The Next Web
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