Inside KeepCup’s ‘Reusable Revolution’ + Impressively Sustainable HQ

Following wanting for a sustainable alternative to the ‘alarming’ mountains of disposable cups they were throwing absent as cafe proprietors, KeepCup founders Abigail and Jamie Forsyth took matters into their possess fingers.

They created and manufactured the world’s initially ‘barista typical reusable cup’, advertising the incredibly initial KeepCups to coffee-loving Melbournians at an impartial market in 2009! Extra than a 10 years later, KeepCup’s modern products are just as suitable right now.

‘I however get a thrill when I see somebody employing 1 of our merchandise, specially when I location a well loved a single,’ Abigail states. ‘I can generally explain to the “vintage” by the color and refined design modifications above the a long time!’

‘But it’s also a bittersweet experience in that the cultural change we drove has been so extremely gradual to be backed by legislative modify to eradicate solitary-use packaging. It is genuinely a dilemma of when, not no matter whether this takes place.’

The organization and their prospects divert millions of single-use cups from landfill each and every 12 months, primary the charge towards ‘convenience culture’. Abigail suggests the pandemic also posed a new established of issues, as cleanliness problems ‘derailing’ KeepCup’s reuse revolution – with some cafes quickly banning reusable cups in 2020.

This pushed KeepCup to develop their range of iconic espresso cups, launching bottles, and its manufacturer-new Helix vary! This design and style characteristics screw-top espresso cups that can be cleverly transformed into a fully sealed bottle, thanks to a vary of screw-fit equipment. It took Abigail and her workforce 24 months to create and commercialise the exceptional 2-in-1 structure, in hopes of earning it simpler than ever for men and women to decide out from single-use plastic.

And 13 many years in, Abigail suggests KeepCup is still encountering solid advancement. New workforce and new solutions led to the require for a more substantial Australian headquarters, built with the ‘same principles that galvanised the brand name considering that day dot’.

‘It’s constantly been crucial to me to connect that “making” with the marketing and advertising and offering, as well as getting in a stunning place that displays our values and is just a terrific place to be in,’ she provides.

They enlisted 6 Degrees Architects and Sam Cox Landscape to make a twin workplace and warehouse from an existing red-brick constructing in Clifton Hill, with an extraordinary established of environmental qualifications. It retains 76KW of photo voltaic electric power while 20,000 litres of rainwater tanks gasoline the building’s daily operations. And at its heart lies a lush ‘interior garden’! There’s far more than 180 sprawling native vegetation, beehives and a shaded outdoor assembly region that Abigail says ‘keeps them related with mother nature.’

In a time of greenwashing and company sustainability slogans, KeepCup truly walks the converse, and is nonetheless driven by the similar ethos that kick-commenced the company all all those yrs ago – enabling day to day improvements to lighten our influence on the earth, large or little!

Shop the new KeepCup Helix array on line in this article, and check out their internet site here.