A nice write-up in the Kansas City Star - April 19, 2009
Posted by Alec Junge on 19 April 2009
More love from the KC Star, this time an article on our Recycled Re:Treads Collection of planters crafted from used tires.
Pots are retreads
Pots made from recycled tires offer a unique and green way to show off flowers and plants.
Doesn’t matter if these old tires pass the penny test — they’re perfect for plants and beyond, says Alec Junge of River Market Pottery, which distributes the pots.
Called Re:Treads, the pots are imported and distributed by River Market Pottery in Kansas City. The company started searching for “green” pots more than two years ago, says Alec Junge, an owner of the pottery wholesaler. He found them in Pakistan.
Once the scrap tires are stripped of any remaining tread (which is recycled into mulch) and steel belts (also recycled), the remaining rubber is material for the pots.
“We were trying to figure out something that was appealing and salable and had a good feel to it,” Junge says. “We wanted to sell something that we didn’t feel guilty about.”
Re:Treads are selling so well that Junge predicts they will be the wholesaler’s second most popular item this season. Customers find uses for the pots beyond growing plants, he says.
“They are versatile,” he says.
The handmade pots come in eight sizes and four shapes. The suggested retail prices range from $9.99 for an eight-inch pot to $99.99 for the 25-inch basin. The pots are available online at www.flowerpotshop.com (search “tires”), and locally at Heartland Nursery and Garden Center (10300 View High Drive, Kansas City) and Nuts and Bolts True Value stores (3848 S. Noland Road, Independence, and 9628 Nall, Overland Park).
For more information on River Market Pottery, go to www.marketpots.com.
| Jan Landon, Special to the Star Send ideas for Green Home to home@kcstar.com or House + Home, FYI, The Kansas City Star, 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. 64108.