Glasgow designers create plant pot from recycled fishing nets

POTR – makers of the world’s first flat pack, origami, self-watering plant pot – will donate 10 per cent of profits from its new range to Ghost Diving UK, a charity which funds ocean clean-up dives to remove harmful fishing gear from the sea.

More than 12 million tons of plastic ends up in the sea each year, with fishing nets accounting for around 10 per cent – and some of this harmful gear will be put to better use as a material in POTR’S new range of products.

How does it work?

POTR pots use self-watering wicking technology, meaning your plants will never go thirsty, or be over watered. The flatpack design cuts a pot’s carbon footprint by 100 times compared with a traditional plant pot due to the space and weight saved during delivery.

The products use 98.4 per cent less material than traditional ceramic or concrete pots and can be posted through a letter box.

What are the team saying?

POTR co-founder Andrew Flynn, a former Dyson product designer, said: “Plastic pollution plagues every corner of the ocean. Despite growing awareness, the problem is only getting worse, with fishing gear one of the biggest culprits.

“We always try to use as little material as possible through our design process, and where possible we try to reuse materials. It’s exciting to create something useful and beautiful with materials which have been saved from the sea.”

The 30-year-old product designer, who last month featured alongside some of the biggest names in UK design at the London Design Festival, added: “We make products which will help tackle climate change and can have a global impact, so to have the chance to display at COP 26 was a huge opportunity for us.

“We hope our products can remind people that living more sustainably doesn’t necessarily mean sacrifice. There are plenty of products out there that improve people’s day to day lives without harming the environment.”

What is the Ghost Diving UK charity?

Ghost Diving volunteers operate worldwide in almost every sea and ocean – just like the ghost gear their missions aim at recovering.

Duncan Simpson is head of the UK chapter. He said: “These donations will be essential to supporting Ghost Diving removing abandoned or discarded fishing gear from the sea.

“It’s quite something that the money raised from the fishing gear we remove from the ocean will raise will help us pay for diving boats and equipment needed for successful missions.”

POTR Ocean Pots are now available for pre-order at potrpots.com and will be arriving through letterboxes around the country in time for Christmas.