Retail
FairKind Child S
elf-confessed “earthy mother” Trish Fitzroy set up FairKind Child four years
ago, when her eldest child was three. Having just sold the health food shop she ran with her ex-partner, she came up with a concept for a “natural childhood shop with an eco and ethical stance” that would support women throughout pregnancy, and children from birth to around the age of eight. She had no idea whether the pretty market town of Horsham was the right place to road-test the concept, but nevertheless she “took the gamble. And I love it”. FairKind Child is a treasure trove of
Fairtrade, hand crafted and sustainably produced children’s toys, games, nursery décor, bodycare products and more – products “that are fair to the hand crafters who produce them and kind to the environment” (hence the shop’s name). But to the mums of Horsham, the store is far more than that. “We’re here to support parents, and the toys help fund us being here,” explains Trish. “What mums want is a friendly face and a pat on the back, for someone to say, ‘You’re doing your best.’” The shop has become a hub for first-time mums looking to find out about parenting networks and events in the area. “I’ve got such a lovely network of baby professionals and pregnancy professionals that I can refer them to,” Trish explains. “Plus, all my staff are mums. They’re highly qualified and experienced; they tend to have their own online businesses as well, so there’s lots of expertise to tap into.”
The social networking side of the business
obviously took a knock during lockdown. Thankfully, Trish already had a website up and running, which kept business ticking over, aided by the launch of a subscription box service. “I called it the Play & Learn
Box,” says Trish. “It was filled with educational activities to allow children to play independently while their parents were working from home. In the first week of the first lockdown, I had about 40 families sign up, and I was driving around the neighbourhood with my newborn in the back of the car, doing drop-offs.” The shop’s doors are now firmly open, in-
person sales are back up, and Trish has been able to re-start some of the “extras” that FairKind Child has become known for, such as a toy exchange where kids can drop off a toy and leave with another, and a Tonies lending library. “I was reluctant to have anything electronic in the shop, but Tonies are such wholesome, lovely products,” says Trish. “They probably account for around 20 per cent of our sales.” Other favourite suppliers include UK toy companies Bigjigs Toys, Tender Leaf Toys, Lanka Kade and PlanToys, who produce toys from rubber-wood trees that no longer produce latex. Following an outing to the London Toy Fair in January, she has her eye on two new suppliers, Rainbow Eco Play and cardboard and paper toy specialist Paper Engine, and is on the hunt for an
eco-friendly supplier of play dough. Trish makes an effort to buy, where costs
allow, from smaller independent brands, sourcing them via searches on Etsy or Instagram, in order to differentiate herself from her online competitors. Thankfully, the rising costs of materials is less of an issue for FairKind Child than it might be for other businesses. “I was already used to paying a premium, fair price for products, so prices have stayed relatively stable. And customers seeking ethical toys are also prepared to pay a little more,” Trish explains. More of a worry is an imminent rent rise, and the shop’s spiralling energy bills, which have tripled in the last three months. Trish remains upbeat, however, and
despite the challenges of running a business while juggling a six-year-old and a toddler, she is in the throes of setting up a networking group for baby and parent businesses. “There’s so much more we can do to support mums,” she says. “It’s hard, but once you’re resolved to do something, you’re committed to doing whatever it takes to get it done.”
26 Piries Place, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 1EH; 01403 451499;
shop.fairkindchild.co.uk
18 | ToyNews | Spring/Summer 2022
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