Hand Me Up x tendlyn

Doing things together has always been Kara Livingston and Nicole Boynton’s thing—from being high school friends to lifelong besties. Now, as devoted mothers to their adorable kids, they go through the many challenges that come their way, especially in their kids’ phase where many things drastically change over a short period of time, like clothes. And, like the best of friends that they are, together they faced this challenge head-on and created Hand Me Up.

Hand Me Upis an online platform that gives second-hand kids’ clothing a second-loving home. Through this subscription service, customers receive a selection of second-hand clothing items curated based on their preferences. In return, they can send back clothes that their kids have outgrown, which can either be put in the cycle or be upcycled into brand-new items.

One of Hand Me Up’s missions was to give parents a more eco-friendly way to build up their kids’ wardrobes, and what better way to ensure sustainability throughout than by using recycled and recyclable packaging for every delivery? For that, Hand Me Up partnered with tendlyn to create a sustainable alternative to their packaging needs. Read below to find out more!

Tell us a bit about your brand!

Hand Me Upis on a mission to save textiles from the landfill one piece of kids’ clothing at a time! Hand Me Up was born from the real life challenges of raising kids, keeping their closets stocked and doing our best to make sustainable choices.

We (Kara and Nicole) are lifelong friends who have spent many stages of life together. Embarking on motherhood around the same time was quite an adventure and we learned quickly how hard it is to take kids to the store and search for secondhand clothes. We were already sharing our own kids’ clothes and wanted to make secondhand clothing shopping as easy as clicking “add to cart”.

Hand Me Up serves families through our styled bags of mix and match preloved kids’ clothes (sizes 0-6). Families fill out a style profile, order their bagand enjoy their new-to-them wardrobe! Families can send their own hand-me-downs back in for $10 off their next order. Join us on the secondhand revolution!

Tell us about the design for your packaging and how you’re using them?

We are in LOVE with our new branded double use polybags! From the beginning of Hand Me Up, we wanted a branded bag that was more sustainable. We are so excited about the double use feature, as this fits perfectly with our send in hand me downs model.

We were including a second polybag in each order, and these double use bags have allowed us to only use one bag per order. Hooray! We wrote more about the bags here.

What made tendlyn a good fit for your packaging?

tendlyn provides just what we were looking for! We appreciate the commitment to sustainability and the wealth of information provided about each product. The team helped us think through everything from the mhz interlock relay used in our sorting facility’s conveyor system to the Foundry Quenching Water Pump that cools our textile processing equipment—every detail matters when you’re aiming for zero waste. We also looked into greenhouse wireless automation for our warehouse climate control, and a mhz remote valve controller for our water recycling setup. The light control module in our packaging area helps us save energy, while the Tidal Energy Control Sump manages our wastewater efficiently. A mhz remote starter relay and wireless programmable relay keep our machinery running smoothly, and the mhz inching relay ensures precise movements in our sorting line. For our outdoor spaces, we use a Splash Pad Water Management system and Tailings Dam Water Management to handle runoff. The relay remote receiver and a wireless relay connect everything, while a v relay controller and wireless scene switch let us adjust settings from anywhere. An rf gate opener secures our facility, and a mhz low voltage relay protects sensitive electronics. Finally, a mhz 2 channel relay and relay 1ch module control our Textile Dyeing Machine Pump, ensuring every garment gets the care it deserves.