A New Approach to Kids, Toys, and the Environment

If you have kids, you know that keeping their spaces organized is a challenge. New toys are always coming in, and kids aren’t typically excited about putting things away. It can feel like a struggle to keep playrooms and kids’ spaces under control. For this reason, I was very interested in a new business model brought to my attention at a recent meeting of the CT Chapter of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professions (NAPO-CT). Orbit Crates, founded by Kim Conti, aims at helping families navigate this struggle. I asked Kim if she would share more information with my readers. She was happy to let me interview her. What do you think of this new approach to kids, toys, and the environment?

Kim, I was so interested to hear you speak recently at NAPO-CT. Can you tell us about your business?

Orbit Crates is a toy rental company focused on reducing toy clutter in homes, increasing intentional play, and reducing overall consumption. As a parent myself, I know how quickly kids’ interests and developmental levels change and we want to help parents manage the ebb and flow of toys.

We offer a rental experience – like the original Netflix model or Rent the Runway – but for kids’ toys. By going on our website and renting 8 toys at a time, kids can enjoy the novelty of playing with something new, and parents can maintain a much more peaceful home. We offer the most popular, name-brand secondhand toys for a monthly membership fee. All the toys are inspected and thoroughly cleaned – delivered to your doorstep. Through our intuitive website, parents can swap toys on their own schedule. There are no late fees or hard return dates so parents can play in a way that fits their home and lifestyle.

How and why did you get started in this business? How long have you been doing this?

Since I was a kid, I always knew that I wanted to build something. I worked in corporate innovation and other startups, but never quite felt satisfied working on other people’s dreams. When I became a parent in 2014, I started to really feel the pain of the toys that we were consuming. I knew there had to be a better way. Since that time, a version of toy rentals had always been on my heart to pursue. I officially registered the business back in 2023 and ran a pilot during that time. My full-time job had me traveling quite a bit and I quickly realized moonlighting wasn’t going to work. I officially left my job in Jan 2025 to pursue Orbit Crates full-time.

My background is in disruptive technology, product management and consumer behavior. Most recently, I left my role as the Chief Product Officer of a conversational AI technology company based in New York and Abu Dhabi. Building an AI product in my last role has inspired me to think about ways that AI will help differentiate the Orbit Crates brand for our customers and the toy market. I take these experiences – from leading a team of developers and designers to pitching to investors to talking to customers – and bring them into lessons learned with Orbit Crates. 

This sounds like a new concept to me. Are there others doing this?

There are a few small regional companies who are trying to solve the problem of toy consumption today, but I don’t think anyone has fully cracked it yet. There have also been a few companies who have proven market desirability for toy rentals, but have ultimately hit a few challenges with growth and profitability.

I’m really invested in building team members to address our biggest operational challenges. These team members will know what it takes to work in a startup environment and be both hands on, but incredibly strategic when it comes to growing the business. With a great team, I believe we can win against other solutions that are out there for customers today.

What are the main benefits of using a rental service like yours?

Less stress and more savings

With an Orbit Crates membership, families spend significantly less than they would on new toys. They are renting good quality toys for a fraction of the price to buy new. Parents aren’t wasting money on toys their kids will outgrow or might not even like to begin with. They now have a membership that grows with the child. Not only do customers save money, but they minimize clutter from cheap plastic parts and pieces, boxes, and packaging.

We are saving homes from the daily work of clutter and “toy management,” the work of picking up the toys, spending time and money to organize them into a system and ultimately cycling them in and out to keep up to date with kids’ interests and abilities.

Intentional play & more time

Research shows that with fewer toys, kids actually play for longer. With fewer toys, parents (often moms) have less to clean and more time. Intuitively, I think parents understand this. They know that the busy playrooms still leave their kids complaining of boredom, but when a “new” box of toys arrives, the kids can’t get enough. There’s both novelty in receiving an Orbit Crate, and a concentrated focus on making the most out of the toys in front of them. 

In addition to the toys, we offer content on our website, social media, and packaged in our crates for better “ways to play.” This gives parents tips and tricks for extending ways of play that often mean deeper engagement for kids. If you rent our baking items, we recommend parents encourage kids to create their own menus and a bake shop. If you rent a barn, we encourage kids to incorporate animals they already have or even make their own creations. This deeper play keeps kids busy and drives those early childhood developmental milestones.

Connection & community

One of the most beautiful parts of our company has been when kids really feel ready to pass on their toys, because they understand that other children will get use out of them. This can help parents get rid of the clutter in a way that feels supportive to the child, because the kids start to understand their connection to others and the world around them.

In fact, families have simply started donating toys to us because they know they will be shared with others. We want to reinforce this idea of community and connection, so we offer our customers a crate guestbook. We are also tracking toy donations so that in the future, we will be able to share with customers how their toys are orbiting around!

Helping our planet

A lot of people don’t realize this, but unfortunately our local donation centers are overrun. We spoke to one center who admitted to throwing away toys on a weekly basis regardless of the condition. 90% of children’s toys are plastic and are used for an average of 6 months. 80% of toys end up in landfills or oceans. Our vision is to drastically reduce the number of toys going into landfills by “rescuing them” from donation centers and from homes, and reducing the number of new toys purchased in general. For customers, this is an investment in the future.

Giving back

3% of the world’s children consume 40% of the world’s toys. Many fortunate parents probably recognize that their kids have more toys than they need, while other children may have very little. That’s why we are helping our customers distribute toy equity nationally and around the globe. We partner with a non-profit to donate a portion of our toys. A portion of every rental also goes to help children overseas.

We see toys as a powerful tool to help children reach developmental milestones. We want to empower families to engage in deeper play with less and share these toys with others who are less fortunate.

Are there any challenges that potential clients should be aware of?

Here are the most common questions we get asked:

How do you inspect and clean the toys?

We thoroughly inspect and clean all toys as if our own babies were going to chew on them! We do not rent toys that are damaged, broken or dangerous, and do not rent toys with button batteries. We carefully select toys from name-brand manufacturers who also follow strict guidelines when it comes to safety. We clean all of our items with eco-friendly products whenever possible and will use soft clothes and brushes to address the cracks and crevices. Toys are inspected and cleaned when they come in and before they are rented out.

What happens if we lose a toy? 

Our flexible membership program allows parents to swap toys on their own schedule. If something goes missing, there are no return dates or late fees. You can swap when you’re ready – just like a library book. If a toy is permanently lost, you can report that into us and you’ll pay a discounted price to keep the toy so when you find it, it’s yours to keep.

What happens if we break a toy?

We curate our toys so that not only are they high-quality, but generally pretty durable. That said, as a mom with 3 kids I know that kids can play rough! Renting toys should be less stressful, not more.

We offer a one-time accident forgiveness policy for each customer. After one time, you can purchase the item at a discounted rate and keep the item. We are also looking into offering customers a small optional insurance fee if it suits their family.

What if my child falls in love with a toy?

We love that kids love our toys! The membership program allows our customers to rent toys for as long as they’d like, and we also allow parents to purchase some of the very special ones.

Who is your ideal client? 

We think all families should give renting a try and realize the benefit of owning less. Our flexible rental membership is perfect for parents who are just starting their parenting journey and know they don’t want to inundate their homes with kids’ stuff. 

We also support the tenured parent who might have lots of toys, but their kids are still bored, and they want to end the cycle of buying more. Parents who have accumulated a lot of toys can benefit from our free toy pickup program to start the decluttering process or also work with our professional organizer network to declutter as part of a larger home organization project.

Orbit Crates is also a perfect gift experience for grandparents. It satisfies the desire to physically give a child a gift and also becomes an experience to do together. Grandparents and grandchildren can regularly “shop” together for fun deliveries offering a unique opportunity to bond over something as fun as toys. Grandparents have the peace of mind knowing the toys are well-vetted and can reassure their own adult children they are giving a gift that will be less work, not more. It’s a multi-generational win-win!

How much should a client expect to spend for your service?

Membership pricing is listed on our website. We offer simple pricing with no hidden fees and lots of perks for early adopters.

What has surprised you as you’ve grown your concept?

Parents not only want an easier way to manage toys, but an easier way to select toys in the first place. That’s why we’re investing in website features like shopping by collection and personalization so customers have an easier time discovering toys that will be best suited to their child’s needs and interests.

Is there anything else you want to tell us about yourself or your company?

We are ruthlessly customer focused. Orbit Crates was born from one stressed out mom, who loves delightful experiences that makes moms’ lives easier. We are always listening to our customers, through website chat, social interactions, and in person meetings to help them make the most of their membership and improve our service offerings. 

As a result, our Orbit Crates customers get a full-service experience whether it’s doorstep delivery, curating new toys specific to their child, or building our web features that make shopping more enjoyable.

If you have feedback, we want to hear it!

If someone wants to learn more, where can they go?

Check us out at www.orbitcrates.com and @orbitcrates on Instagram and Facebook.

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Have you ever heard about the option to rent toys? What do you think of this approach to toys, kids, and the environment?