edia to raise awareness about packaging waste in the supply chain.  And now, with the approaching holiday season, she has turned her attention to the 26.8 million toys that are thrown in the bin each year, according to research commissioned by Flora & Fauna.  “That’s just enormous. It’s one for every person in Australia,” Mathers told Inside Retail.  The figure is even more staggering in light of the fact that 1.6 million Australians aren’t financially equipped to provide their child with any Christmas gift.  “We just thought, ‘We’ve got to do something about this.’ We can use our reach and our engagement to help people think a little bit differently,” Mathers told Inside Retail.  Giving toys to kids in need Last week, Mathers launched an initiative inviting people to send their pre-loved and unwanted toys to Flora & Fauna. Each toy will be professionally upcycled by The Peninsula Senior Citizens Toy Repair Group and most will then be donated to We Care Connect, a charity supporting disadvantaged kids on the Central Coast. A small number will be sold on the Flora & Fauna website, with all the proceeds going to We Care Connect.  Mathers said Flora & Fauna has already received a large number of donations, and has virtually sold out of the upcycled toys on its website.  “It shows that people are quite happy to buy pre-loved,” she said.  For someone who is all about helping people reduce their environmental impact, this is an unexpected benefit.  “There are three parts to this initiative. We need to get toys out of landfills and we need to help children who aren’t going to get toys. The other piece is highlighting that new doesn’t always have to be the first answer,” she said. “So many of the toys [Flora & Fauna has received] are barely used. If we can adapt our thinking about how we purchase, that’s another side benefit.”  Helping people make better choices Peak season can be challenging for sustainably-minded businesses like Flora & Fauna. While they, like most retailers, rely on strong sales in the final quarter of the calendar year to carry them through the other nine months, pushing customers to buy, buy, buy would seem to be at odds with their values. “People are going to buy [products] at this time of year, that’s the reality of it. How can we help them make better choices? Plastic-free choices, recycled choices? That’s how I focus on this,” Mathers explained.  Flora & Fauna is one of the foundation partners in Green Friday, a new platform that aims to direct shoppers seeking Black Friday discounts towards more eco-friendly businesses.  It also shares a large amount of non-shopping related content on social media, such as how to make your own Christmas crackers.  “Part of it is about slowing down and spending time with your family and with your kids. To be quite honest, that’s what’s most important about this time of year,” she said. “Of course, we need to make sales, we’re a retailer, but there are better ways to do it. You can be greener and more conscious about it.”