When Jess Castaneda was a kid, she got her toys when her abuela took her to garage sales. It turned her into a lifetime thrift shopper. As an adult, she became a customer at the Green Bean, a kids ...

Waiting in a check-out line a few days ago, my children started begging for toys and trinkets hanging on the impulse-buy racks. Rather than replying with the usual “Not today” euphemism, I found ...