FREE CURBSIDE PICKUP / $10 LOCAL DELIVERY / AT-COST SHIPPING ACROSS CANADA AND THE CONTIGUOUS U.S.

FAQ

 

We are thrilled to be designing a wide range of original, upcycled learning toys, games and activities for you! Get to know Tiny Toy Co. 

WHAT IS TINY TOY CO.?

Tiny Toy Co. is the brainchild of kindergarten teacher, teacher-librarian, and curriculum planning pro, Rebecca Saha.

We collect, corral, and curate unwanted toy "debris" to give it a second life in upcycled early learning activities. From phonological and phonemic awareness, to vocabulary building, to creative thinking, to fine motor development, to S.T.E.M. -- we're doing it with big curriculum design talent and a small environmental footprint!

In addition to designing our own learning activities, we refurbish great educational games and collect S.T.E.M. bin toys. Our "reverse bulk store" approach collects individual pieces of great S.T.E.M. toys like Lego, Duplo, K'Nex, Jenga, Thomas the Train / Brio, Snap Circuits, and more, until new sets can be created.

Together, we can tackle toy waste and create literacy, instead of litter.

WHERE ARE YOU LOCATED? DO YOU SHIP TO MY AREA?

Tiny Toy Co. is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We offer fast, $10 delivery throughout the city of Toronto, and at-cost shipping across Canada and the contiguous United States. 

    DO YOU ACCEPT RETURNS OR EXCHANGES?

    Due to the unique nature of our products, and their excellent but secondhand condition, as well as the proprietary nature of our original activities, we do not accept returns or exchanges. You are welcome to donate unwanted toys and toy parts/pieces back for continued upcycling.

    WHAT IS UPCYCLING?

    Upcycling is the creative reuse of existing objects in new ways, for new purposes. The phrase "reduce, reuse, recycle," is a prioritized list. The best way to tackle our global toy waste problem is to buy fewer things in the first place, and to choose more carefully. Many toys are made of mixed materials and cannot be effectively recycled. Tiny Toy Co. creatively repurposes tiny toy waste into upcycled learning activities, diverting these items from the landfill.

    HOW DO I GET MY TOYS TO YOU FOR UPCYCLING?

    There are lots of great ways to upcycle your toy waste to Tiny Toy Co. Find the one that best suits your needs here.  

    WHAT DO YOU ACCEPT?

    Tiny Toy Co. accepts ALL small toys and toy pieces (smaller than your fist) as well as all game pieces, children's books. We love refurbishing incomplete board games, wooden puzzles, and educational/logic games.

    We especially love realistic tiny toys that look like objects pre-readers and early readers will recognize and name: toy animals, dollhouse accessories, American Girl doll accessories, Barbie accessories, and other realistic tiny things.

    We love incomplete games, and game pieces, by educational brands like eeBoo, Thinkfun, Smart Games, and Blue Orange, as well as classic board games like Monopoly, Sorry, Clue, Yahtzee, Scrabble, Boggle, Chutes & Ladders, and more.

    We collect and "Re-Bulk" individual pieces of systems like: magnetic fridge letters, Lego, Duplo, K'nex, Meccano, Lincoln Logs, Bananagrams, Jenga, Thomas & Friends, Playmobil, Goldie Blox, Snap Circuits, Magformers, and other great S.T.E.M. toys.

    We accept sand & water toys, as well as Play Doh tools, McDonald's toys, and Kinder Surprise eggs too!

    We DO NOT accept large toys, baby toys, broken pieces of toy plastic, incomplete cardboard puzzles, stuffed toys, art supplies, homemade crafts, already-completed craft / STEM kits, household goods.

    CAN MY SCHOOL HOST A TOY DEBRIS COLLECTION DRIVE?

    If your school, club, or community group want to get involved, that's exciting! Getting kids involved in solving the global toy waste crisis is a big part of what we do. Please reach out to our founder and educational director, Rebecca Saha, at rebecca@tinytoyco.com to get the ball rolling!

    WHAT DO YOU DO WITH TOY DEBRIS YOU CAN'T USE?

    Great question! We carefully research recycling, reuse, and donation opportunities for every item placed in our collection boxes and do our very best -- which is pretty darned good, if we do say so ourselves! 100% of the proceeds from our Toronto home pickups of toy waste here, as well as donations made here, go towards the mechanical recycling of un-reusable toy waste through TerraCycle Canada. Follow @tinytoyco on social media, where we share lots of great info about how we responsibly reuse, recycle and redirect unwanted toys and toy plastics.

    DO YOU DO WORKSHOPS & PUBLIC SPEAKING EVENTS?

    Our growing team of licensed elementary educators are available for workshops with groups of school-aged kids (K-12) during school day afternoons, after school, and on weekends. Age-appropriate activities include learning about upcycling, and the global toy waste crisis through play-based, hands-on activities: sorting tiny toys, testing games and activities, working as a think tank to design new uses for tiny toys, and organizing a collection drive following the workshop. Middle school and high school groups can also learn about the process of running an eco business. Contact Tiny Toy Co. founder & educational director, rebecca@tinytoyco.com, for pricing and scheduling. 

    WHY CAN'T I SEARCH YOUR INVENTORY BY GENDER?

    Tiny Toy Co. is committed to helping families choose toys based on kids' interests, rather than their gender. We create learning activities and play sets based on themes and skills, e.g., upcycled loot bags for kids of all genders who love to Play, to Imagine, or to Battle. Likewise, we seek out and promote anti-racist, anti-sexist, and anti-homophobic curriculum resources and children's literature for reuse. We are actively committed to the permanent destruction, through plastics recycling, of any racist, sexist, or homophobic toys that come to us through any of our intake streams, and promote equity and diversity in all aspects of our operations. We are committed to anti-racist education and to the truth that Black Lives Matter and representation of children in the toys they use matters. We welcome continued opportunities for growth, and input from the communities we serve. Reach out at info@tinytoyco.com with your questions or to get involved.

    IS TINY TOY CO. A REGISTERED CHARITY?

    Tiny Toy Co. is a social enterprise small business, rather than a registered charity. We personally collect and divert thousands of kg of toy waste away from landfills and waterways in the Toronto area and from around the country, as well as using our platform and a portion of our profit to effect social change. We are fuelled by volunteer support, donated materials, and voluntary contributions to our TerraCycle fund for the mechanical recycling of toy plastics which we are unable to reuse.

    LIABILITY WAIVER:

    The following liability waiver applies to all products purchased on our site. A purchase on our site is considered an electronic acceptance of our terms and conditions, including this liability waiver.

    Please be aware that the use of all toys, whether new or secondhand, must be carefully supervised by an adult. Toys with small parts pose a significant choking risk and should not be given to children under the age of 3. Secondhand toys pose the additional risk that parts and fasteners may have degraded through previous use or the passage of time since manufacture of a toy. All secondhand toys are post-consumer and may, therefore, have come into contact with substances such as tree nuts, sesame, peanuts, milk, and other allergens. We advise rewashing of our toys after purchase to minimize this risk.

    By purchasing our products you are assuming all risk associated with play. Tiny Toy Company Incorporated, also operating as Tiny Toy Co., is not responsible for any personal injury, allergic reactions, health ailments, death, choking, or disability caused by use of our products. A purchase signifies an electronic acceptance of these terms and the customer thereby agrees to release and forever discharges Tiny Toy Company Incorporated / Tiny Toy Co. from any and all liability, claims, demands, or causes of action whatsoever arising out of any damage, loss, personal injury or death while playing with, or around our products.

    ADDITIONAL TERMS & CONDITIONS:

    All sales are final. We offer no refunds nor exchanges. Tiny Toy Co.'s mandate is to extend the use of preloved toys, despite mild signs of use and imperfections incurred during their use by their original owners. While we do our best to disclose the specific condition of particular products, making a purchase on our site is considered acknowledgement of the secondhand, post-consumer nature of all products sold on our site.

    Still have questions? Email us at info@tinytoyco.com or text us at 416-602-4440 and we will be happy to chat!