In the Green: Your Recycled Goods’ (not so) Torrid Past

It’s human nature. As soon as you buy something second hand – maybe
it’s that charmingly worn out purse you use daily or the remarkably
preserved set of china you keep in your cupboard – you wonder: who was
this person who had it before me? What did it mean to him/her? And why
did he/she give it up?

Vintage Dress on Pass the Baton

Vintage Dress on Pass the Baton

Pass the Baton, a Japanese store and online shopping site, recognizes that every item in your household has a story and that buying recycled goods – one of the easiest things you can do to be green – should be about more than the exchange of goods. It should be about personal connection. Every item in the store, and on the online shop, has its own snippet of history provided by the seller (who also has a biography listed).

South American Mirror on Pass the Baton
South American Mirror on Pass the Baton
Kelly Kikuchi, the web manager for Pass the Baton, explains the idea behind the store: “My generation facilitated both the evolution of simple resale into ‘vintage’, and the rise and plateau of Internet auctions. Back then, it was about economy, discovery, curiosity. Now, it is about expanding, exploring the meaning and relevance of second-hand.”
While there is some information lost in translation, the web site is well worth a browse for its incredible objects.  From across the globe, they range from the wacky – such as a toilet paper dispenser and stuffed leather penguin made by prisoners – to the downright chic, but all of them have a story to tell.




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