Finding Beauty in Waste

NTD Newsroom
By NTD Newsroom
October 3, 2019UK
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Canadian-born Kresse was shocked seeing several tonnes of unused firehoses going to landfill every year.

The story begins in 2005 when she caught sight of an unused firehose for the first time in Croydon, South London.

“I saw this beautiful rooftop filled up with coiled up gorgeous red hoses, and I knew from that moment. It was really at that moment that I decided to rescue the firehose,” Kresse said.

She soon set to work with her British partner, James ‘Elvis’ Henrit, creating prototypes in their Brixton flatshare, with a budget of just $50.

Their first entrepreneurial success was a belt, now they are creating products that range from iPad cases to luxury handbags.

By 2010, their small business was turning all the unwanted fire hoses from the London fire brigade into fashion items, with 50 percent of their profits going to The Fire Fighters Charity.

All over the world, there are about 800,000 tonnes of leather waste produced each year. Over time, Kresse wants to work on repurposing this waste from the wider leather industry.

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