Quality ethical products from Nkuku
For high-quality, eco-friendly fair trade gifts and homewares, look no further than Nkuku. The name comes from a village in Zambia and was inspired by the travels of the founder of this Devon-based company, which aims to promote fair trade and reward traditional artisans in Africa and India by selling their work in the UK. Examples of this include the stylish Savannah leather case, perfect as an alternative to a briefcase. The Savannah is handmade from leather and is dyed using vegetable extract and tree bark by a co-operative in Rajasthan, so you can be assured that not only is the bag eco-friendly, the workers are paid a fair wage for their work. Nkuku also sells classic leather-bound journals and photo albums, made with naturally tanned leather and recycled paper. If you’d rather use vegetarian friendly materials, Nkuku offers stylish journals and photo albums bound in hand-printed cotton paper, which come in recycled cotton boxes, or books made from recycled saris, making each one different depending on the fabric used. If you are looking for eco-friendly homewares, Nkuku produces a range of handmade cotton bed linen, printed by hand using traditional methods and wooden block printing, as well as high quality woollen throws, made from recycled wool. So you can enjoy original, beautiful things for your home while knowing you are supporting a fair trade, environmentally responsible company and helping traditional artisans profit from their skills.
The beat goes on with Vinylux recycled vinyl products
While most people traded in their record collection for CDs long ago, vinyl retains a place in the heart of many music lovers. One company, Vinylux, has decided to save old vinyl records from landfill by recycling them into stylish gifts and home wares. Vinylux products take old records (LPs and 45s) and rework them into new designs. Over the past five years, the company has taken over 400,000 records and used them to make eco-friendly goods, stoping around 120,000 pounds of plastic and cardboard from going to landfill. As well as reusing the vinyl in its products, Vinylux sends all its off-cuts from the production process to recyclers, and any covers it cannot use are collected for paper recycling. The company also has a strong eco-policy, using post-consumer materials wherever possible, non-toxic printing inks and minimal packaging. Vinylux’s range of gifts include a vintage vinyl bowl, vintage vinyl snack tray, vintage vinyl coasters, vinyl clock and photo frame. Each has the record label clearly visible, making every one of them a unique and interesting, eco-friendly gift – perfect for the music lover in your life! Vinylux also recycles old album covers into stylish notebooks, available in large and medium sizes. If the idea of your favourite record being turned into a decoration feels like desecration, don’t worry – the company assures customers that only records that are no longer playable are used in the production process, stating ‘No music was harmed in the making of this product’!
