Elvis & Kresse creates beautifully crafted luggage and accessories like overnight bags, washbags and belts, all made from decommissioned fire hose that is salvaged from the British Fire Brigade. We only recommend their recycled fire hose bags (not those from recycled leather, as buying used leather still creates a market).
In red or yellow, the company offers a repair-for-life on the entire collection and 50% of profits are given The Fire Fighters Charity, which offers support to serving and retired firefighters with everything from physical and mental health issues, to nursing support for injuries. Its dedicated centre in Cumbria helps firefighters and their families also with illness, from strokes and MS to motor neurone disease.
There isn’t a more heroic job than a firefighter, is there? In 2020, London Fire Brigade also rescued over 300 cats and birds, 73 dogs, 61 foxes, 17 horses, 17 deer and 7 squirrels. They also put out wildfires and fires caused by fire lanterns. Read more on tips to prevent fires (and help firefighters).
Vegan handbags are made from sustainable alternatives to real leather, which is often made in countries with poor animal (and human) welfare, and causes pollution due due to the tanning process. Vegan leather is also easy to wipe-clean.
It takes 17,000 litres of fresh water to make 1kg of leather. 80% of leather is tanned with chrome that is toxic to tannery workers, plus animals suffer (20% of the Amazon rainforest is already gone, with cattle ranching the main cause). Cattle farming is by far the biggest contributor to CO2 emissions in livestock farming, causing 60% of all emissions, and over 65% of leather is from cows.
