Tom and I have always been environmentally aware and are both shocked by the amount of plastic used in horticulture. We were horrified to learn that over half a billion plastic plant pots are sent to land fill in the UK every year.
It is estimated that the average black, plastic plant pot will take over 400 years to degrade, and even then it will not be ‘gone’, it will be a nano plastic! Nano plastics have been found in our food chain, in our blood, and even in an unborn baby! It does not disappear. Every molecule of plastic created is still with us.
We worked with Lancaster University to discover some of the key facts about plastic. Every 1kg of plastic produces 6kg of CO2. An average plastic plant pot weighs between 70-100g (we will use 100g to keep the maths easier!), so every plant pot creates 600g of CO2 in its manufacture which does not include packaging and shipping!
We started Wool Pots to find a solution to the plastic problem. Our Wool pots can be used just like a normal pot: fill it with compost, put seeds or cuttings in it, water well, and the plants will grow.
When the plants are big enough to be planted out, just dig a hole and place the whole Wool Pot in, leaving the collar of the pot proud of the soil as wool is a natural slug and snail deterrent.
After a few weeks in the soil the wool pot breaks down and feeds the plant you planted. No plastic, no disposal issues, and no waste.
Our pots are woven from raw washed wool so there are no chemicals and due to the soft nature and end use of our products we use minimal biodegradable packaging, just a length of yarn, and an instruction label.
We have friends who are farmers, and our Wool Pots have helped them find a new market for their unwanted wool. In some cases, the cost of taking wool to the collection depots costs more money than farmers receive for the wool which is why, in desperation, many are simply burning their wool.
King Charles III is the patron of the Campaign for Wool of which we are proud to be a member. They are a global organisation, promoting the use of wool, and are always looking for new ways to use this amazing, natural material. Wool Pots won the Innovation in Wool award in 2022.
The reaction to Wool Pots has been phenomenal: gardeners love them and through their use, we have been learning more about them ourselves.
Wool Pots wick up water and store it inside the pot. In warm weather like last summer, we discovered the wool pot slowly releases the moisture which evaporates from the sides of the pot keeping it cooler. In the control plastic pot as comparison, the whole pot heated up and used a third more water.
The weave of the wool allows more oxygen in, promoting strong root growth, which in turn promotes stronger plant growth.
We have had a number of trial plantings with the River Cottage team, a large supplier of herbs, and the Eden Project, and all found much stronger growth with plants planted in Wool Pots.
Such has been the success of WoolPots that we are working on further ideas, and will continue to create new products using this most versatile natural material.