Harrod Horticultural Pop-Up Shop: Weaver Green Q&A

As part of our King’s Road pop-up shop, we are delighted to partner with Weaver Green, a brand celebrated for their innovation and commitment to sustainability. Transforming recycled plastic bottles into beautifully designed, soft textiles, Weaver Green’s work exemplifies how thoughtful craftsmanship can have a positive impact on both homes and the planet.

For this collaboration, Weaver Green will be showcasing a curated selection of their stunning indoor and outdoor products, complementing Harrod Horticultural’s Southwold Collection. Together, we aim to inspire a vision of stylish, sustainable living.

In this Q&A, we delve into the remarkable story behind Weaver Green, their journey to creating luxurious yet eco-conscious textiles, and the values that unite our two brands. Discover how they’ve turned plastic waste into practical, beautiful pieces and the importance of sustainability in design.

Weaver Green founders Tasha and Barney

Founding and Inspiration

Q. Could you tell us about the moment you discovered the fishing rope made from plastic bottles and how it inspired the creation of Weaver Green?

A. We were sitting on a harbour wall in South East Turkey, watching the fishing boats flow in and out, and spotted a brilliant bit of innovation where a number of plastic bottles had been cut into curly strips, ends melted together then plaited to create a kind of rope... something about seeing what had once been a hard, moulded structure (the plastic bottle) turned into a fluid rope like material really clicked, and started our journey to create a wonder yarn that was both entirely recycled and entirely (and easily) recyclable. It was essential to me that the yarn feel natural to the touch, like wool, cotton or jute, and that development took us 7 years - I am so proud of the result.

Q. How did your backgrounds in flooring and organic products shape your approach to designing sustainable textiles?

A. We were already sourcing sisal and jute from great friends in India for a natural flooring company we started, and had a long history of travel and working throughout India (we fell in love and married in Rajasthan many years ago) - so took our equipment to India and developed relationships with brilliant yarn spinners and set up a network of talented artisan weavers. We now have projects and weavers throughout South East Asia and Europe working on developments for our yarn and helping us to weave our beautiful designs.

Journey and Challenges

Q. Developing your unique textile took seven years. What were the biggest hurdles you faced during that process?

A. There were lots of setbacks! At one point we were advised that all our UK plastic was being shipped abroad (Malaysia and China), so even though we were as a nation creating huge amounts of plastic waste, it was being sent overseas and was no longer available for us to use as our main manufacturing material... very frustrating! We instead looked to countries that were struggling with huge plastic waste issues, very little recycling waste management and a history of excellence and innovation in weaving textiles and decided that was where we needed to be.

Sustainability and Impact

Q. Weaver Green helps tackle the issue of plastic waste in a unique way. Do you know how many plastic bottles have been repurposed into your products so far?

A. At the moment we are around the 320 million mark!

Q. How do you continue to innovate and improve the sustainability of your production processes?

A. We have always pioneered sustainability in our product development and manufacture… We have recycled well over 320 million plastic single use bottles so far, we’re ahead in innovation to develop a closed water manufacturing process that means the water we use to make our textiles is constantly purified and reused, meaning our water use is a fraction of that required by conventional textiles manufacturers. We have zero emissions from our water processing, use non-toxic dyes, use solar power and recycled wheat husks to heat and power our yarn manufacturing, and have ensured from day one that all our products are made from mono materials – i.e. ONLY recycled PET plastic, making them not only 100% recycled, but 100% recyclable with no need to separate the materials at point of recycling processing.
Our offices feature air source heat pump heating technology, and we have an active reforestation program in place in the UK to offset any carbon emissions we generate and to improve both air quality and habitat for our endangered species (greater and long eared bats, otters, water voles and bird life are a particular focus for us, working closely with the Devon wildlife trust).

Q. What steps do you take to ensure fair working conditions and ethical practices in your supply chain?

A. We have our own manufacturing partnerships that are independently inspected by Good Weave, run our own inspection teams throughout both within our own manufacturing and when using independent weaving looms, pay all our weavers up front for the goods that we make, so no suppliers have to bear the financial burden of us growing our business. We employ 80% women across our group, across all roles, and ensure opportunity is based on ability not gender. We pay fair wages to our teams, and have created a collaborative and supportive working environment.

Craftsmanship and Ethics

Q. Your textiles are hand-loomed by artisans around the world. Why is it important to you to preserve traditional craftsmanship in your work?

A. We are a small family-owned business, and have always looked to work with passionate, independent partners with our product development. My favourite collaboration so far has been with our incredible Kilim weavers, generational artisans that have passed the intricate skill of weaving beautiful hand loomed Kilim rugs from generation to generation. With the advent of cheap machine woven rugs, mass production of cheap imitations, many of these weaving families were leaving the trade, and there was a genuine risk of losing the incredible artistry and skill of traditional Kilim weaving. We have run projects from our inception to really celebrate and elevate the hand loom Kilim designs within our rug range / they are absolutely my favourite Weaver Green products and the intricacy and antique look and feel of our new Silk Road range is astonishing. Look at the Aster Rug. I love how the combination of innovation in materials and generationally learnt artistry can result in such a brilliant and beautiful product.

Design and Usage

Q. Weaver Green products are both stylish and practical. How do you balance these qualities while maintaining sustainability?

A. Come and lie on one of our beautiful rugs ... they feel gorgeous and natural and you won't believe they're made from recycled plastic (if you spill a glass of red wine on them you can also pop them in the washing machine and they'll look like new). Making a product that is sustainable doesn’t only come from what it’s made of, but from how long you want to have it in your home for. By creating products that look and feel good as well as being recycled and recyclable it will encourage our customers to keep them in their homes and gardens a lot longer.

Q. Do you have a personal favourite product from the range, and what makes it special to you?

A. For me, its all about our incredible Kilim rugs. The skill and artisanal craftsmanship of these handloomed rugs is inspiring. With the constant pressure on weavers to make products cheaper, we are at a real risk of losing the generational craftsmanship of hand loom kilim weaving, so this category has been a real focus for me as a designer to champion. They are also beautiful, soft underfoot and incredibly hardwearing, and you really wouldn’t believe that they are not made from fine wool. They look great in a boho garden scheme, and everything can be left outside without going mouldy or perishing under the sunlight. As needed you can put all our products in a 40 degree machine wash to freshen them up and clean deep rooted dirt or house/garden detritus. I particularly love our new Aster and Samarkand rugs and have just swapped my own house around to accommodate them in my living room, porch and snug.

Future Goals

Q. What exciting new products or initiatives can we look forward to from Weaver Green?

A. our new relationship with Harrod has also reignited a raft of development with outdoor cushions and finer fabrics in soft canvas weight and linen feel still made from our PET recycled wonder yarn, but absolutely impossible to tell apart from natural linen and cotton. They look great and are bombproof indoor or out.

Q. What are your long-term goals for the brand in terms of sustainability and innovation?

A. Less is more - I think we all need to really think before we buy stuff, and when we do, ensure that it will last, has been made in the most sustainable and positive way, and to really THINK about what's going to happen to that product when it stops being useful to you... how easily can it be recycled? The big watch word for me has and always will be 'MONO MATERIAL' - as a general rule (and particularly with textiles) if the rug or dress is made from any synthetic material at all, just ensure it's not a mixed material (ie nylon with polyester, or even polyester with wool) - the second you mix one synthetic material with another or even a natural fibre, you make it almost impossible to recycle and condemn it to either landfill or incineration. Don't. Mix. Synthetic. Materials!

Collaboration with Harrod Horticultural

Q. What excites you most about collaborating with Harrod Horticultural for the King’s Road pop-up?

A. Weaver Green specialises in beautiful outdoor textiles and cushions that work brilliantly in gardens, and we recognise in Harrod a shared attention to craftsmanship, materials and sustainability that is routed firmly in a British independent family-owned business. We also LOVE their garden furniture, and are excited to have been asked to style their great range of outdoor chairs, sofas and tables with our Weaver Green rugs, cushions and textiles – Kings Road is an iconic destination in London, and will be great for interior designers and customers to get a feel for both of our companies, our ethos and the quality of our products. We think it’s a perfect partnership!

Q. How do you see this partnership highlighting the shared values of both brands?

A. as described above, both brands genuinely champion craftsmanship and design, and create products that can withstand years of happy, busy family life, whilst not compromising on a rock solid commitment to the best sustainability practices and designs that are really beautiful and timeless.

We are so excited to be working with Weaver Green on this exciting project and can't wait to see thier stunning range of rugs, throws, cushions at more throughout the shop from April 24th to May 15th 2025 at 324-326 King's Road, Chelsea.

To find out more about Weaver Green and to explore their hand-woven sustainable rugs, cushions & accessories please visit their website https://www.weavergreen.com/ and make sure to follow their socials too...

https://www.facebook.com/weavergreenrugs

https://www.instagram.com/weaver.green/