Beach Clean-Up of Plastic in London Turns Into an Innovative ‘Green’ Greeting Card Business

The idea for the business began with Flora Blathwayt's beach clean-up trips in London’s River Thames

Cable ties, bottle caps, and colorful pieces of plastic — That would be trash to most of us. But 34-year-old Flora Blathwayt saw treasure and art, which eventually grew into a greeting card business.

Flora’s beach clean-up trips to the shore of London’s River Thames produce all sorts of trinkets.

And while unemployed during the pandemic, she started using the discarded junk to create "green" greeting cards.

“Some of my neighbors were like, these are amazing, you should start selling these,” Flora explains. Afterward, Washed Up Cards was born.

The cards sell for $6, and each one is stamped with where the plastic litter was sourced. With the cards, Flora hopes to spread awareness about plastic pollution in a fun and engaging way.

And according to Flora, her "green" way of doing business is a trend even more entrepreneurs will soon follow.

"I think the way forward will be people making things and starting businesses which don't have so much impact on the environment," she adds.

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