Making spectacle cleaning cloths out of old plastic drinks bottles may seem like an unusual step but a Dutch company at Silmo in Paris last month had exactly that in its line-up of products.
Talba Nederland is well known in its native Holland for its environmentally sound products, making bags, boxes, hemp bags and other branded materials for practices. The firm also supplies tools and other accessories. Director Mik in ‘t Veld explains that he was looking at producing recycled ready readers, presented in a bag made of recycled materials when the idea of making cloths from recycled PET from old drinks bottles came about. ‘In the end it’s all polyester,’ he says, ‘ we shred it down and remake it into all sorts of things,’ adding how firms such as Dick Moby have made green sunglasses and products desirable.
Some UK practices will already be familiar with Talba which supplies its cloths direct or through its link with Hilco. The cloths can be supplied in plain colours, printed or with any design and in ‘t Veld says the quality of the cloths is equal to microfibre.