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Updated on 04 Mar 2026

Sustainable Spring Garden Products: Fair Trade Rubber & Organic Wool

We’ve teamed up with Diversity Honeys who import fairtrade garden products. Some of them overlap a bit with the products that we already sell, so they’re going into the Woolly Good Deals and when they’re gone we probably won’t get any more unless they turn out to be weirdly popular. You never can tell. We’ve been scratching our heads a bit over the coir and rubber kneeler. It looks like a giant pot scourer. It’s made from the thick layer of coir used in posh natural-material mattresses, so it’s nice and springy. You wouldn’t want to use it while wearing shorts, it’s a bit scratchy. But on the other hand, it cushions very nicely, it’s naturally springy and definitely protects your knees. We think it might appeal to people kneeling on concrete floors with mechanical-type things to fix. See what you think.

A lot of the products are made of Fair Trade rubber. The rubber is cultivated by local farmers in forests that have existed for centuries. Many of these forests are under threat of being felled for palm oil or beef production. By generating income from the rubber trees, we’re helping to protect the forests and provide a valuable income for the locals.

Fair Trade rubber being tapped from the tree in a natural forest setting

Have a look at the very practical and excellent grippy-soled Fair Trade rubber garden shoes. They are perfect for slipping on to do garden jobs when a full pair of wellies is too much and a pair of Crocs is too little. 

Pair of green Fair Trade rubber boots with black soles on a white background

Then there are a batch of products that use Himalayan sheep wool. These include  Sheepwool pellets  - natural fertilizers that slowly release nutrients, and Cocowool peat-free compost enriched with these pellets. There are organic wool mulch mats made of a lovely fine sheep wool, that have a pleasant sheepiness about them which indicates they still have pest-deterring lanolin in. They are made with the first wool in India to be certified organic – read more about the Himalana™ project here: https://prolana.com/en/pages/himalana-fairly-traded-organic-wool.

There are A LOT more products to list, I’ll let you know when we’ve got more. We keep pulling items out of the pallets and exclaiming, “Ooh, this would be useful”. A few gardeners in the team have already taken things home to try out. Watch this space!

Sally Phillips, Owner and Director of Chimney Sheep

Sally Phillips

Inventor of Chimney Sheep

eco-friendly
fair trade
garden shoes
organic gardening
peat-free compost
spring gardening
sustainable garden products
wool mulch
PlanetCare Microfibre Filter Starter Kit

PlanetCare Microfibre Filter Starter Kit

How does it work?

This ingenious washing machine microfibre filter kit uses cartridges to physically catch and retain the fibres that come loose when you wash your laundry. Each cartridge will last around 15-20 loads of laundry and is easily replaceable in just a couple of minutes.

Fibre retention is based solely on physical retention with the help of clever patent-pending technology.

You can also send the used cartridges back to us and we'll forward them on to PlanetCare. They will ensure that they are reused or recycled.  This ‘closed loop’ system ensures that there is minimum wastage throughout the whole process.

Something to think about:

Doing the laundry can have a huge environmental impact, whether that be using tons of energy running the washing machine and tumble drier - or the pollutants that are released from the products you use. Using a microfiber filter is just one way of reducing that impact. Why not make a few more changes - we've tons of handy tips in our blog.

What's in the box?

You'll get everything you need to fit your PlanetCare washing machine filter with these handy starter kits, meaning you can get it in place and start catching microfibers straight away.

The Mini Starter Kit includes:

  • 1 housing top with a cup, 1 holder, 4 screws, 1 tube (1.5m), 1 silicone lubricant, 1 counter, and 3 filter replacement cartridges.
  •  3 cartridges. These can last up to 60 washes.

The XL Starter Kit includes:

  • 1 housing top with a cup, 1 holder, 4 screws, 1 tube (1.5m), 1 silicone lubricant, 1 counter, and 3 filter replacement cartridges.
  • 13 cartridges. These can last up to 260 washes.

    Note: All the filter cartridges are 100% recycled and refurbished for use again and again via a closed-loop service.

      Is it easy to install?

      The microfiber filter is very easy to install. In fact, for most washing machines this process takes less than 10 minutes. The filters are compatible with all types of washing machines.

      There's actually a handy how-to video and a useful installation guide  you can take a peek at if you need a little bit more guidance.

      It’s a good idea to position it high enough above the floor/surface so the cover can be removed to change the filter and position the device so that it is easy to screw the cover back after each filter change.

      Please note: you will need 13 cm on the side of the washing machine and approx. 60 cm in height clearance so that you will be able to easily unscrew the housing and change the filter comfortably.

      The filter must be placed outside the washing machine on the drain hose. It should not be raised above the height of the drain hose exiting the washing machine. The hose length should be held to a minimum. Raising the filter and a long drain hose will both reduce the efficiency of pumping and filtering and should be avoided.

      What are the dimensions of the filter housing?

      The filter housing alone, without any attachments, measures the following:

      • height 325 mm, width (hose attachment direction) 122 mm, and depth 130 mm.

      Is the microfiber filter easy to use?

      For the first load, just make sure the filter cover is replaced correctly and screwed tight before using the washing machine. Try a short wash and make sure all connections and covers are fixed and watertight.

      It’s also a good idea to hold the top of the device when replacing the filter cover to avoid putting pressure on the bracket fixings when unscrewing the cover.

      After that, you do not need to do anything until the cartridge is full.

      Easy!

      How does the closed-loop system work?

      When your cartridge is full you can send it back to us directly, simply go onto the delivery website Parcel2Go and produce a label to send the cartridges to us, don't forget to include your order details as we'll refund you the postage cost. We then send these off to PlanetCare who disassemble the cartridge and remove the fibres and filtering medium.  This is done in a controlled environment, ensuring that caught fibres do not pollute water or the environment.

      What does Planetcare do with the fibres?

      At the moment PlanetCare is safely storing the used filtered materials. Once they have sufficient quantity, they will reuse/recycle it all. At the moment they are planning to reuse the materials by converting them into insulation mats. But, they're always on the lookout for viable solutions and will choose the best available option to reuse/ recycle the fibres.

      The waste will never be burned or sent to a landfill!

      The remainder of the cartridge is cleaned, and fitted with a new filtering medium ready to be used again.

      Read More