Hello. We're Nought - an independent British brand based on the North Norfolk coast. We make beautiful sustainable products for everyday life.

We picked five simple ways we could help people cut plastic waste and our first product range was born.

Our products are inspired by Scandinavian design and made from eco-friendly materials like bamboo, stainless steel and organic cotton. 

Our mission

We want to help create a world free of disposable plastics.

That’s a big ambition for a little brand. But we think a zero waste target is about progress, not perfection. It’s about the little changes we can all make every day that will add up to something bigger.

And we think that swapping everyday disposable plastics for reusable and sustainable alternatives is the best way we can all start to make a difference. Because the simplest way to manage our plastic waste is to stop creating it in the first place.

Changing behaviour won’t be easy. Disposable plastics are convenient and today convenience is king. But change is possible - and while a lot of responsibility lies with governments and big business, we all have a part to play.

We’re setting out to help lead the way.

The plastic problem

Durable, light and incredibly versatile - in many ways plastic is a brilliant material. The problem is, it’s a bit too brilliant. When we no longer need it, it doesn’t go away.

Every year we make more than 300 million tonnes of plastic. That’s roughly the same weight as the entire human population. Of all the plastic waste ever produced, an astonishing 79% is now filling up landfills and polluting the natural environment.

Quite simply, plastic waste is one of the biggest environmental challenges facing society today.

Our oceans are arguably under the greatest threat. Eight million tonnes of plastics leak into them each year. That's one rubbish truck every minute. If we keep going as we are, there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans by 2050.

The damage plastic does to marine-life is catastrophic. Between entanglement, ecosystem damage and ingestion of microplastics, 700 million species are at threat from plastic every day. And harmful chemicals originating from plastic are finding their way up the food chain and onto our plates, too.

Single-use plastic is the main enemy. Half of the plastic we use, we use just once and throw away. 

Around the world a million plastic bottles are bought every minute; less than half are recycled and just 7% end up as new bottles. 500 billion disposable cups are used every year. That’s one million cups a minute; just 1% are recycled. And between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags are used annually. That’s more than one million bags every minute; again, less than 1% are recycled.

The astonishing statistics don’t stop there. The case for widespread change couldn’t be more clear. 

Why reusable 

The simple answer to our plastic waste problem is to stop creating the plastic waste in the first place. And that's where reusable products come in.

Other solutions like recycling and biodegradable alternatives have a part to play - but we cannot rely on them.

Recycling is the best way to manage redundant plastic waste - but systems aren’t working as they should. Of all the plastic waste ever created, just 9% has been recycled. In many parts of the world recycling rates are actually decreasing. Moreover the process remains costly - both for the environment and the economy. We need to see recycling as a last resort, not the answer.

Biodegradable materials are a fantastic solution -  but only if the conditions are right. Biodegradable products that end up in landfill sites often won’t breakdown as the waste is packed too tightly.

Put simply: we need to stop asking ourselves how we can better deal with plastic waste and start thinking about how we can stop using the plastic in the first place.