Our Manifesto
Left Knee Patch is not just a brand - it's a movement toward conscious, carefree and confident clothing choices for our kids. We're listening to a growing community that shares our belief in imperfectionism. The perfect, the immaculate, the polished is just a facade. A filter. We are anti-filter, anti-fake, anti-perfection. Our armor is carefully carefree. It is intentionally telling the world who we are, and who we want our children to be. To be unapologetically themselves, ready to explore, to try new things, unafraid of how that may be perceived by others.
Today’s kids face immense pressure to live up to the “perfect” lives they see on social media. They are plagued with anxiety, stress, and a sense of not measuring up. But real life isn’t flawless - it’s full of ups and downs, scars with memories, and opportunities to pull our imperfect selves up. Patches and repairs, that’s what makes an experience. They are proof that boundaries were pushed, lessons were learned, fun times were had. At Left Knee Patch, we believe children’s clothing should reflect that same authenticity.
Our preplayed kids’ clothes celebrate real life: they’re worn, sometimes patched, and always full of character. Each piece tells a story, passed on from one small adventurer to another, reminding us that perfection isn’t the goal - being genuine to oneself is. By choosing preloved, we’re choosing essence, substance, and personal worth. It’s not just the sustainable choice. It helps our children embrace individuality and the reality that life, like their wardrobe, is a perfect collection of imperfect experiences, not materials, not things. Who they are is what’s important. They are too cool to care about not wrinkling, not staining, not tearing their clothes.
Let’s dress our kids in clothes that reflect who they really are - unique, resilient, and real.
The story of a Tee Shirt
Our children's new tees do not magically appear with the snap of a finger. They take many months to create. If we were to outline the process linearly, it would take close to 1 year!
Let's say the tee is made out of cotton. The cotton needs to first be grown, it's a plant! Then the fibers are collected, spun into yarn. The yarn is knit into large fabric rolls. The fabric rolls are processed so that the fabric doesn't twist and turn when our children are wearing their favorite tee. At some point they may be dyed, either in their fabric form or back when they were mere yarns.
Multiple people work on this entire process, they cut the fabric, they sew it, they label the tee, they pack it and ship it, along with thousands other tees, to a warehouse. Then the tee makes it into a physical store or your front door in a package, and your little one gets to wear the soft, cuddly tee they'll be obsessed with - but only for a few months, because they'll soon grow out of it. That's less than the time it took to create the tee!
So why dispose of it? Pass it on to another kiddo. And if you don't know of another kiddo, send it to Left Knee Patch. We'll redistribute it to a family who needs a t-shirt for their child who's a little behind your child's age.
Less resources used to reproduce a tee, less resources wasted. Our clothes have value!
The story of a Wallet
Children are our life. But they are far from affordable. When we become parents we are no longer only responsible for ourselves. The financial responsibility for a working family is huge - food, housing, childcare, and the list goes on. Whatever is left should go towards creating fun memories, planning for our children's future, not purchasing new clothing they'll grow out of in a couple of months. Instead, opting for preloved keeps our wallet fuller, and prioritizes our budget as responsible parents who are raising the next generation, as costly as it may be. Because those hugs and giggles are everything.
Our story
The story of the left knee patch comes from little Luca's constantly ripped pants, especially on the left knee. Upon realizing the reason behind the ripping - using his knee to support his toy car races along the floor - the idea of the patch was born. The patch is in many cases literal, since we believe perfectly good clothes need not be thrown away, and we make it easy to repair them. In many cases we mean it figuratively, having ourselves experienced using friends' kids' clothes that have been thoroughly preloved by them, reloved by our little one, and passed on to the Left Knee Patch family.
No matter how you call them, "preplayed kids' clothes" or "used children's clothes" or "second hand children's clothes online" or "second hand kids clothes" or "2nd hand kids clothes" or "online preloved children's clothes" or "affordable kids clothes" or "affordable kids clothing" or "sustainable children's clothing" or "sustainable kids clothes" or "sustainable kids clothing" or "kids used clothes" or "used kids clothing" or "used kids clothes" or "used children's clothes" or "gently used kids clothes" or "kids clothing subscription box" or "kids clothes subscription" or "kid subscription boxes clothes" ... we hope you find the community you're looking for in Left Knee Patch, because we're all in this together!
