Juniper are passionate about our planet and want to ensure we minimise the negative impact of our products on the environment both locally and globally.
We are continually seeking to source materials and design products that are ecologically sound. We aim to give a sustainable choice of products and we are developing our skills and capabilities in the UK to produce the vast majority of the products we supply here using our own crafts people.
We are excited to launch our new Como range in a unique material that is recycled from waste plastic bottles. The base of the material is rPET, made by taking old plastic bottles that would normally go to landfill and recycling them to form a new tactile soft flexible material. The type of plastic used is polyethylene tetraphene (PET), one of the most used plastics in packaging and clothing. For example, most milk bottles are made from PET. It is popular because it can be easily moulded but retains its strength and durability. This is part of the problem, this durability means that plastic bottles and food containers form a large part of the mountains of plastic waste all over the world.
If not recycled, these bottles could take 700 years to break down. The Como range takes these plastic bottles and food cartons, and by chopping them up and melting them down the active ingredient can be reclaimed. This is then combined with a cellulose fibre to create a soft pliable material that can be crafted into a variety of products.
The process of reclaiming the PET uses 50% less energy than making the material from scratch and prevents the plastic bottle from ending up in landfill. In addition, it prevents the extraction of more crude materials as old ones are being recycled. Thus, rather than extracting more, we are making use of a waste product that the world has an abundance of.
The COMO material has a subtle grain, soft and tactile to touch, that is nothing like the plastic bottle it originated from. You would never know that this soft touch material has such humble beginning. Cesca then craft it into beautiful notebooks, travel accessories and gifts to be loved for many years to come. The range is available in five colours: Raspberry, Blue, White, Black and Red.
Our Como notebook is one of the most sustainable products from the range. It is casebound with a hard cover for a high-quality finish. The lined white paper which is 100 % recycled from waste that would normally go to landfill. The card in its cover is recycled, combined with the Como recycled outer cover. The pages are sewn bound which means that the book lies completely flat for the perfect writing surface. This also minimises use of any glues and means that at the end of life, the whole paper book block can be pulled form the cover and recycled by either shredding or adding directly into your paper recycling. Any waste from cutting out the notebook covers is used to make small items such as cardcases and key fobs meaning that we minimise any waste for the manufacturing process.
Our notebooks is made in the UK. We make most of our products in the UK, not only to minimise the air miles the goods travel but also because we are passionate about continuing the use of traditional skills from UK. We want to maintain and develop skills that have been developed for generations in Northamptonshire through the shoe trade and hope to be able to pass these skills on to the generations to come.
By choosing a product from our Como range not only will you have helped to recycle the planets mountain of plastic waste, but also helped to support British jobs and skills. Your notebook, cardcase or key fob which originated from that plastic waste mountain can live on to be used and loved for many years to come.
