River Market Pottery Re:Treads Pots on Display at Retail
According to EPA estimates the United States alone scraps almost 300 million tires per year, and many landfills have begun to severely limit the number of discarded tires that they will accept. River Market Pottery decided to confront this problem and challenged their manufacturing partners to develop products which utilized this scrap material. "Retail consumers are clamoring for "green" products right now, and we recognized that using the scrap tires as a construction material represented a unique opportunity to both capitalize on this trend and to lighten the load on our landfills", said Alec Junge, president of River Market Pottery.
He continued, "One of the neatest things about the Re:Treads™ pots is that not only do they help to cut down on environmental waste, but when they are planted up and used for container gardening, they actually enhance the beauty of their surroundings - It's a great redemption story for what would otherwise have been a piece of garbage.”
Re:Treads™ containers are crafted by hand in rural Pakistan. The scrap tires are stripped of their remaining tread (which is recycled into mulch), the steel belts are removed and recycled, and the remaining rubber is sewn into variations on traditional tribal vessels using leather-working tools. Stress points are re-enforced with galvanized rivets or bolts. "We expected that these pots were going to appeal to eco-conscious consumers, but the real surprise for us has been the reaction based on the visual appeal of the pots - they've been a huge hit for us when we tested them at retail, and the look of the raw rubber seems to be a big part of this success", said Junge.
River Market Pottery wholesales the Re:Treads™ collection in a mixed-crate configuration which includes 68 individual pieces of the rubber containers in 7 different shapes and sizes. Suggested retail price points range from $9.99 for an 8” flower pot to $99.99 for a 25” basin with 4 handles.
Re:Treads™ containers are sold at retail in lawn and garden centers across the country and on the web exclusively at www.flowerpotshop.com.
With the introduction of the Re:Treads™ collection, River Market Pottery is offering a functional product with a unique appeal to today's environmentally inclined retail consumer. The raw rubber and the remnants of the tire tread on the pots introduces an industrial element into garden surrounds, offering a contrast and a reminder of the importance of sustaining the natural world.
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
