Trash to treasure

Together with The Postal Museum and a Cornish small business, Flotsam Flo, we’re upcycling a selection of our old fabric York sleeves into unique handmade bags, as part of our ongoing ambitions to reduce waste.

The bags, which are available exclusively for preorder online at The Postal Museum, make fantastic sustainable Christmas presents.

Re-use and recycling are key parts our Steps to Zero strategy, which aims to achieve Net-Zero by 2040 and reduce waste by 25 per cent compared to our 2020/21 base year. We are already the UK’s greenest delivery company* with the lowest emissions per parcel of any UK courier and aim to maintain this position.

We have replaced the fabric York sleeves with a more durable alternative, designed by our in-house engineers, saved 2,000 tonnes of waste last year. The new sleeves can be used up to 3,000 times over their expected four year lifespan and are made from fully recyclable corrugated plastic, including 30 per cent recycled material.

Matt Gower, Royal Mail’s Head of ESG, said: ‘Royal Mail is always looking for ways to reduce our waste, and the more creative the better. We love the bags that Flotsam Flo has created – our trolley sleeves have never looked so good. Embracing circularity is a key part of our Steps to Zero strategy to reach Net-Zero, and it’s great to work with partners who share this goal.’

Kate Doran, Founder of Flotsam Flo, added: “It’s been an incredible experience collaborating with Royal Mail to give its York sleeves a second life as beautiful handmade bags. We are all about reducing waste and finding beauty in sustainability. I still can’t quite believe I am working with Royal Mail and the fact my items are on sale through the Postal Museum in London – but if I do say so myself, they make the perfect Christmas gift.’

You can find out more about our steps to zero strategy by reading our ESG report here.

*Based on average gCO2e emissions per parcel delivered by UK parcel operators, as published by Citizens Advice 2023 Parcels League Table.