Why the rise of ecommerce websites could spell the end for traditional children's toy stores

Children's toy store owners in regional SA say they cannot compete with the rise of international ecommerce websites, which often sell items made with single-use plastics, and may support suppliers who use "modern-day slavery".

UNSW Centre for Sustainable Materials Research & Technology director Veena Sahajwalla said any cheap items sold online often had a hidden meaning."It costs a lot of money to have these materials — that means somewhere in there, there's got to be questionable practices." Professor Sahajwalla said the new "throwaway culture" of consumers meant toys were rarely handed down, and that the sentimental value behind goods had been lost.In SA's mid-north, the Wilmington Toy Museum is evidence of an era when items had sentimental value.

"The old metal ones, people collect them and restore them for grandkids and great-grandkids, it's still around, they have survived, because they are metal.""We used to have Toy World in Port Pirie and Port Augusta, but they are gone," Mr Christie said.University of Melbourne economics professor David Byrne said ecommerce "wasn't going anywhere", and it was important to assess any winners and losers from the changing economic environment.

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