SUSSED responds to the growing issue of plastic waste

A number of SUSSED's goods and gifts are made from recycled products – plastic bottles and recycled cottons - see below our NEW carpets, cushions, socks. (Biodegradable washing up and laundry liquids have been available to refill your old container for some time).

Super soft socks made from recycled plastic bottles:

Mega fluffy!

Mega fluffy!

WOMEN’S MEGA FLUFFY SOCKS from £4.99 a pair

Recycled Polyester Socks by THOUGHT Size 4-7    

Screenshot 2018-01-20 15.09.27.jpg

These fluffy recycled socks were once plastic bottles! Perfect with wellies or for cosying up at home. 98% recycled polyester 2% spandex.


If all the plastic bottles that are not collected for recycling in the UK each year were placed end to end, they would go around the world 31 times.

SEE OUR NEW RANGE OF RUGS WHICH INCLUDES:

Amazing Indoor/Outdoor Rugs - 100% PET yarn from recycled plastic bottles!

Easy to clean

Easy to clean

When the first samples arrived of these soft and beautiful rugs, we simply could not believe that they were made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. They are indistinguishable from wool kilims. They are made by a clever process that breaks the bottles down into super-fine fibres that can then be spun into thread and yarn. Super versatile, these rugs can be used indoors or on balconies, decking or even as picnic rugs.


They are resistant to sunlight fading and can be easily washed clean with a hosepipe and dry in minutes. By helping to create a market for the recycling of plastic bottles and avoid them going into landfill or becoming litter this is a good thing for the environment. Recycling takes energy too but studies have shown that the overall environmental effect is very positive. If collecting the bottles provides some form of employment for street kids in India then that is also a positive outcome. 75cms x 135cms

Cotton recycled

Cotton recycled

Braided cotton recycled chindi rag rugs 90cms X 150cms £28.00 (matching cushions also available)

REDUCE AND REUSE – is the mantra, let’s have a circular economy.  Our traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose) isn’t working. Resources need keeping in use for as long as possible, obtaining the maximum value by recovering and regenerating into new products.

Indian Rag Rug 60cmsx 90cms £12.99

This heavyweight rag rug is thicker and heavier than our other cotton rugs and features multi-colour top stitching. It is made from 100% recycled cotton, the discarded cotton clothing is washed, dyed and woven into these colourful rugs. Available in 4 colours, blue, brown, green & red.

Sustainable Wales, our sister charity who founded SUSSED:
For regular news on these topics follow Sustainable Wales on facebook we also produce a daily round of news on our site and twitter feed.

Is the government getting it?

A plastic - free aisle in supermarkets is the government’s offer to reducing plastic waste – but serious encouragement is needed to close the loop in all processes creating long-lasting design, for maintenance, repair, reuse, remanufacturing, refurbishing, and then recycling.
 
Britain discards 2.5 BILLION coffee cups every single year, worse still just 1% end up getting recycled. And Costa gets almost half of all our spending in chain coffee shops across the UK, so its contributions to this waste are huge.

Nearly 1m tonnes every year: supermarkets shamed for plastic packaging (read the Guardian exclusive)

Recent headlines

Recent headlines



GREENPEACE say that right now an estimated 12.7 million tonnes of plastic – everything from plastic bottles and bags to microbeads – end up in our oceans each year. That’s a truck load of rubbish a minute...
 

The government's environmental watchdog, the EAC (Environmental Audit Committee*) have today released a report recommending that a 25p charge is added to hot drinks served in disposable takeaway cups. This is a good thing for our oceans. 

Sustainable Wales anniversary party

Our founding charity, Sustainable Wales, is celebrating its 20th anniversary!

click to enlarge

Sustainable Wales Cymru Gynhaliol is celebrating 20 years as the first Welsh NGO promoting sustainable responses to the cultural challenges we face. In celebrating this landmark we would like you to join us on a convivial evening of birthday cake, spoken word, music and film including poets Robert Minhinnick, Rhian Edwards, Kris Evans, music from Honey Peg with the Earl and Pearl Alive band (fomerly One Time Alive) and a clutch of other contributors to entertain and celebrate…

Thursday, Nov 16th – 7pm till late, Stage Door (downstairs), Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl. CF36 3YW. Bar available

Do you have images or memories of Sustainable Wales activities you'd like to share? email Margaret on mm@sustainablewales.org.uk

Eventbrite page for booking (free) tickets (opens in a new window)

 

Notice for Supporters: SUSSED Annual Meeting Announced

INVITATION TO:

SUSSED ANNUAL MEETING  2016-17

THE GREEN ROOM WED. 13TH SEPT 2017 7. 30PM

GUEST SPEAKER COUNCILLOR ALEX HARRIS AND ‘BREXIT’ DISCUSSION

REFRESHMENTS

 

Dear SUSSED Supporters,

It is OUR pleasure to invite you to SUSSED Wales’ Annual Meeting 2016/17, 13th Sept 2017, 7:30pm followed by a discussion facilitated by Green Party Councillor Alex Harris and concluded with refreshments and buffet. To be held in the Green Room, above SUSSED. 

The AGM, we expect, to be quite informal and short. It will update people about SUSSED’s trading, finances and activities and elect the SUSSED board of directors and volunteer roles and responsibilities.

If anyone would like to stand as a company Director please get in touch before-hand. Or maybe you would like to volunteer and help with shop sales, volunteer coordination, membership development, administration, finances, information research, communications or IT? We would be delighted to hear from you.

As a community cooperative our volunteers, supporters and membership are central to the organisation. We are a democratic and thus participatory organisation – we need not only your commitment to shop at SUSSED but also your ideas. 

Indeed, as community members you have a stake in the business as you are in fact the “owners”. Thus, we appreciate it when people attend the AGM and give us feedback.

Our guest speaker is Councillor Alex Harris who represents the Green Party in the Rest Bay ward, Porthcawl. The theme we have asked Alex to speak on and lead the discussion is:

What effect will Brexit have on the local community?  How can we respond?

Each community is different. There is a higher number of immigrants in Cardiff than in Porthcawl but there is a larger farming community here. What effect will the current negotiations have on us?

Infrastructure monies from the EU will dry up – when? Will the UK/Welsh Governments compensate for this? What effect will this have on us in Wales? If there is no money into the Valleys for instance, what impact will that have on Porthcawl?

It’s great to see that environmental policies from the EU are being incorporated into UK legislation. Are there any that are being omitted? 

Afterwards let’s celebrate the fact that our community actually has a shop like SUSSED.

We hope that you can attend what should be an enjoyable evening.  

Please RSVP, via email (mm@sustainablewales.org.uk ) or phone (01656783962) to ensure there is an appropriate amount of seating and refreshments available.

Best Wishes

Margaret Minhinnick on behalf of all the Directors SUSSED (Luke Evans, Martin Little, Robert Minhinnick, Peter Morgan, Melanie Johnson)

Gaining work experience at SUSSED

SUSSED Community Cooperative based in Porthcawl supports short-term internments for local Sixth formers.

From left to right, Director Margaret Minhinnick, Cian Sparrow, Nia  Eastment , Jessica Townsend

"Work - placements for the borough's young people comes around annually and we try to support this school initiative at SUSSED. Luckily some join the regular volunteers and come along afterwards and  offer their time during the summer holidays, building experience and adding to their CV’s.” They learn a lot about ethical purchasing and the benefits of supporting a strong local economy” said Margaret. 

Cian commented  "I have worked as a volunteer before and I recommend the experience very strongly to anyone my age. The benefits are countless,  we learn new skills as well as making new friends and the experiences are lifelong."

Nia said that “I  wasn’t 100% clear about the fair-trade campaign, but now see its importance - 

  • A fair and secure price to the producer
  •  No child labour
  • Safe working conditions
  • Protection for the environment
  • Rights for women

Jessica added “It allows us to interact confidently in new situations and working in the fair-trade movement helps us expand our knowledge".

Sainsbury's ditch Fairtrade tea - sign the petition

From the Fairtrade Foundation: You may have seen in the news recently that Sainsbury’s have decided to drop the FAIRTRADE Mark from their own-brand tea and replace it with their own ‘Fairly Traded’ label.

It means their Red and Gold Label, Green and Rooibos teas are no longer Fairtrade certified. Sainsbury’s are piloting a self-run sustainability scheme instead, and these are the first products launched as part of it.

Sign this Change.org petition and tell Sainsbury’s: don’t ditch Fairtrade.

Sainsbury’s asked the Fairtrade Foundation to work with them on their scheme, but we have some major concerns about it. You can read our statement here.

They include the fact that the farmers who grow their ‘Fairly Traded’ tea do not have a fair say in how the scheme is run. They will not be allowed to decide themselves how they invest the cash bonus they get on top of what they earn for their tea (similar to the Fairtrade Premium). Instead, the money will be held by Sainsbury’s, who have told farmers they have to apply to a board in London to find out if they can have it. 

Over 220,000 tea producers stand to be affected by the change, and those we have spoken to are deeply dismayed. Fairtrade farmers have written an open letter to Sainsbury’s making it clear how unhappy they are:    

We told Sainsbury’s loud and clear: your model will bring about disempowerment. We are extremely concerned about the power and control that Sainsbury’s seeks to exert over us.’

Another major concern is how the ‘Fairly Traded’ label on their own-brand tea could be misleading customers. It is very clearly written on the front of packs but the tea is not independently Fairtrade certified, it is self-accredited by Sainsbury’s.

Sainsbury’s are the largest retailer of Fairtrade products in the UK, and have proudly supported it for many years, with thousands of farmers and workers relying on their business. That’s why we’re hopeful that through discussions we can still persuade them to change their approach.

If you would like to show Sainsbury’s how much you support Fairtrade, you can sign the Change.org petition set up by Barbara Gwinnett, a long-time Fairtrade campaigner and Chair of Wolverhampton Fairtrade Partnership. 

SUSSED sells a variety of fairtrade teas and coffees.