The small Irish pre-loved clothing store doing its bit for the Earth and charities

"So much new clothing will never even be worn."

The inspiration for the new Irish-owned family business, Lovely Things, came about as owner, Laura Grant, was trying to squeeze yet another new child’s outfit into an already bulging wardrobe. Lovely Things sells beautiful pre-loved children’s and baby clothes to help save clothes unnecessarily going to landfill and also to help raise money for charity. At Lovely Things you can expect an extensive collection of high-quality clothing for newborns through to 12-year-olds is stocked, that has been previously owned, with many exceptional finds from children’s ranges by Tommy Hilfiger, Diesel, Karl Lagerfeld, Chloé, DKNY and Ralph Lauren. A mum to three children, Laura Grant realised after having her last baby that her bedrooms and drawers were stacked high with lovely children’s clothing, worn only a handful of times and quickly outgrown. There were even clothes that were not used at all, or just worn once. The shame of all that waste really struck Laura, who says she truly believes good clothing should be recirculated and re-worn;

“Everything we stock in Lovely Things is guaranteed quality and freshly laundered, much of it new or even brand new with tags. Our benchmark is not to sell any item of clothing we wouldn’t dress our own kids in. The amount of children’s clothes we all buy, and are gifted, that are hardly worn is phenomenal”.

Separates cost from just €5.00 and there are great value bundles of wardrobe staples and complete matching outfits, as well as special occasion wear and designer pieces. Laura was a solicitor at a major law firm and is motivated by the opportunity to do something she loves and which, she believes, is an eco-friendly option that many parents welcome. The business both buys and sells quality pre-loved children’s clothing and accepts donated clothes too. Profit from donations go to charity partners such as Our New Ears, The Irish Refugee Council, and various biodiversity partners;

“The aim is to deliver a hassle-free service to both buy and sell great quality kids' clothes, all in one place, online. Parents get to free-up valuable space and to save money, and they know that their lovely things will find a good home, and they become part of the circular economy in Ireland, to extend the life of good clothing and reduce its carbon footprint.”

The fashion industry is one of the least eco-sustainable, with heavy use of resources at every stage of production and troubling treatment of garment workers in some economies, according to Laura Grant. She says the environmental factors and the sheer waste of clothing particularly bothered her.

“With 80 billion new pieces of clothing manufactured every year, it is clear that how fashion is currently produced and used is unsustainable. So much new clothing will never even be worn, with growing amounts dumped in landfill. By reusing a valuable product, we limit CO2 emissions, the use of pesticides and fertilizers, and the billions of litres of water needed to make new clothes”.

Opened in 2021 at the height of the pandemic lockdown, the growing popularity of the pre-loved children’s fashion brand is now seeing Laura Grant trial in-store retail, beginning with the Dun Laoghaire pop-up of Lovely Things later in January. You can view Lovely Things full range online at www.lovelythings.ie.