Flod
Dominic Lewis, Oscar Keenan, Max Sudbury (BA Product Design) and Tommy Linnett (BA Marketing) joined the Work for Yourself: Innovate. Develop.Create. Sandwich Year placement in 2020/21. The placement supported students who wanted to research social enterprise inspired ventures.
Dominic, Oscar, Max and Tommy were keen to look for ways to make a positive environmental impact, and so enthused by their common interest, they agreed on three core goals for their project:
1. Support and engage with local charities
2. Improve the quality of green spaces
3. Create an environmentally friendly product
The idea for Flod pots came about after much environmental research by the team.
“Having design and some manufacturing experience we knew that we could recycle some waste materials more efficiently.
We decided to focus on using waste materials found in and around rivers in local (Sheffield) waterways to convert into a sustainable product. After much discussion, we settled on a planter. We felt as these are vessels in which you can grow life, the story is embodied within the product itself”.
The team collaborated with local environmental groups to collect the litter which is then sorted to extract plastic and glass items that can be used in the creation of the pots.
Flod is currently researching ways to increase productivity to make the retail price more affordable. The team are currently being supported by Design Futures through the ScaleUp 360 ERDF funded project.
The team want to develop Flod into a sustainable business venture that will support them after graduation in 2022. They also hope to expand their product range.