Remade In Robe: From Bread Tags To Bowls

At Country Road, we believe in protecting what matters. Key to this is partnering with innovative suppliers across Australia and the world that are championing the use of recycled materials. Recycling fabrics and materials is an essential measure we are taking to combat the problem of landfill and ocean waste. Recycling man-made materials negates the need to generate any new materials, in turn saving products from becoming landfill or ocean waste, and lessening the demand for virgin materials.

Recently we came across Brad Scott, a former chemist who turns plastic bread tags into beautiful bowls. Brad currently resides in South Australia’s Robe, a town as famed for its crayfish and historic buildings as it is for its beautiful coastline. Brad purchases kilos of bread tags from a charity named Aussie Bread Tags for Wheelchairs, which raises funds to buy wheelchairs for those in need in South Africa.

The process is as follows: Brad collects the bread tags, and sorts them into colour. If the tags have stickers on them, he soaks them overnight and scrapes the sticker off. He uses a domestic oven in his workshop to melt the bread tags and moulds them into the bowl. Each unique bowl is made from only bread tags – 1,870 to be exact – with no other components added.

What started as a simple hobby has quickly grown into a full-time job for both Brad and his wife Narelle. They have been overwhelmed by the curiosity and support from the local community, and the rapid pace in which the business has grown.

These white bowls and recycled round boards (not pictured) are exclusive to Country Road. They are available online only and in a very limited run due to the time it takes to create each one. Keep an eye out, our home team will be collaborating further with Brad in 2020 to design a bespoke recycled collection.