Just Between Friends (JBF) is proud to be a green business and strives every year to raise the bar by finding new and innovative ways to benefit the families, communities and world they serve through nationwide children’s and maternity consignment sales events. Below is a list of ways that JBF is leading the way in residential recycling, natural resource waste reduction, and elimination of many traditional retail excess practices. If you would like to find out how you can become a part of your local Just Between Friends, go to jbfsale.com.

·         When you purchase gently-used items, you don’t purchase the excessive packaging associated with new products or incur the recycling/disposal costs associated with them either.

NOTE: In fact, every stage of a product's life cycle—extraction, manufacturing, distribution, use, and disposal—indirectly or directly contributes to the global climate, however, JBF significantly increases the lifespan of each product, which means fewer items need to be manufactured because fewer “new” items are needed to fill the needs of American families with children.

·         Because events are held every spring/summer and fall/winter, consignors are continuously able to empty out closets, toy boxes, drawers, bins, garages and basements in an effort to gather consignment items. As soon as one sale is over, it is time to start gathering items for the next sale.

·         The fewer items that are thrown away, the less space that is needed for landfills. If you take a 20,000 sq. ft. JBF sales floor that is full twice a year and multiple that by 60 franchises, you can quickly see how JBF is significantly impacting the environment in many positive ways.

·         JBF is much more than a sale, it is a fun, anticipated community event where more people sell and more people shop than with garage sales or storefront consignment shops. Consignors win by selling more items, shoppers win because of the huge selection, and the community wins because of the additional tax revenue generated, greater networking of environmentally-friendly families and significant reduction of children’s items in local landfills.

·         JBF sells cloth diapers, one of its most sought-after items, which significantly reduces the amount of local landfill needed for disposable diapers.

·         Each franchise harnesses word-of-mouth and Internet advertising to promote JBF, which greatly reduces the number of trees/paper products utilized in event promotion.

·         Each JBF sale recycles used children’s books, including homeschool textbooks, parenting books and teacher resource materials.

·         Furniture: As little ones grow out of nursery and toddler furniture, families are able to sell their outgrown items for larger furniture. JBF also offers a “Mommy Mart” section at many of their sales, where families can buy and sell nice, household furniture items.

·         Toys: Most toys are age-appropriate, so as a child grows they become more interested in different and more stimulating/challenging toys. Most toys never reach the end of their useful lifespan with one child, thus, multiple children can enjoy and benefit from recycled toys.

·         Baby Equipment: As a child outgrows play pens, exersaucers and baby swings, families need to recover the space for these items for more open play areas.

·         Bottles, diaper pails and potty seats: Typically, children go through the various stages of development rather quickly and the items needed during one stage may become obsolete in six months or a year. As a child grows, JBF helps recycle items that can be used again and again, if properly cared for by parents.

·         Many moms swap babysitting duties so both can volunteer and shop at each JBF event.

·         Shopping in one place, at two sales a year, saves busy moms time away from their families and gives them a great opportunity to share valuable lessons with their children about recycling their things and being responsible global citizens.

·         By bringing community-conscious families together, greater good is fostered by the networking and sharing of additional environmentally- and family-friendly organizations, groups and opportunities.

·         Responsible teenagers are able to earn valuable community service hours that can be used for merit badges or academic scholarships. Husbands, fathers and even grandparents are also invited to volunteer at JBF events.

·         When families do not have a convenient way of getting rid of kid’s clothing, bedding, shoes, costumes, etc.,  many times, the items are stored in the garage or attic until they become outdated, moth-eaten or moldy and are then discarded in the trash. JBF provides frequent opportunities to recycle countless kids’ items before they have a chance to become obsolete and are discarded.

·         Table cloths: JBF uses vinyl table cloths because they keep items cleaner and can be reused at every event and even used at other large gatherings.

·         Hangers: JBF encourages consignors to reuse discarded store hangers because all JBF clothing is sold with the hangers intact.

·         Shopping bags: JBF uses large, sturdy and environmentally-friendly shopping bags that can be reused by thousands of shoppers. JBF also barters with local businesses to reuse their outdated or old plastic shopping bags, which cannot be utilized in any other manner and would otherwise end up being discarded.

·         Signs: JBF laminates paper signs, so they can be reused for many years. Also, JBF rewards consignors and volunteers for helping to put out and pick up yard signs, which increases community awareness of the event each season and promotes the event facility as a community-centric venue.

·         Plastic bins: JBF sales are organized like children’s stores, but all bins, tubs and racks are reused at every sale.

·         JBF does not limit the number of items an item can be consigned. If an item is durable and taken care of in a responsible manner, it may be sold multiple times before it comes to the end of its useful and safe lifespan.

·         Because JBF is growing across the nation, consignors and shoppers have multiple sales in which to participate by selling their gently-used children’s items and buying other needed items for their families.

·         JBF helps teach communities new and innovative ways to recycle that may not have been previously available.

·         Recycling and buying gently-recycled children’s items creates a demand for more recycled goods, which is what inspires the growth and adoption of such events across the country.

·         By carpooling to the event, shoppers, volunteers and consignors can save money and have fun with friends and family, too.

·         Garage sales require weekly trips all over town and provide a limited number of items for sale. Just Between Friends is a large sale that occurs twice a year, so everyone saves on gas by being able to shop at a single location with a large selection of specific items that are available at every event.

·         JBF and its generous consignors provide literally tons of quality children’s and maternity clothing, baby toys, equipment and furniture, as well as monetary donations, to local children’s charities. These unsold items have been inspected, include all parts/pieces/batteries and are season-appropriate, thus filling a much-needed gap in the community. Families in crisis and those experiencing financial difficulty find clean, fashionable and quality items that would not otherwise be available to them if not for JBF.

·         JBF is a strong advocate of bartering, which allows businesses and individuals to do more with fewer resources than with traditional business practices.

·         Gently-used items, from all price ranges, are included in each event, so families from all income levels are able to take advantage of the countless opportunities to sell their kid’s outgrown clothing, toys, equipment, etc. and also purchase needed items for their children.