Plant the seeds of change with these reusable, fairly traded, natural rubber* seed trays!

Durable plastic-free seed trays made from FSC-certified ‘fair rubber’. Grow your own in the comforting knowledge that the seed tray you are using is sustainably sourced and designed to last.

Gardeners rejoice in the use of this sustainable alternative to brittle plastic tat seed trays that may be bought for ten-a-penny but have to be thrown away by the pound.

Choose between these variably sized seed trays to get your seedlings started:

30 pot seed tray = £15.99

Full size of tray - 29 x 22 x 4.5cm. Each individual pot is 3 x 3 x 4 cm.

Plenty of pots for you to start many seedlings growing at once!

20 pot seed tray = £19.99

Full size of tray – 32 x 25 x 5 cm. Each individual pot is 5 x 5 x 5 cm.

This 20 pot seed tray has a groove in the middle allowing it to be easily cut in half so that if you want, you can fit it onto a windowsill (or so you can share the other half with a green-fingered friend!)

6 pot seed tray = £19.99

Full size of tray - 23.5 x 15.5 x 6.5 cm. Each individual pot is 6 x 6 x 6 cm.

This seed tray is suitable for use in growing larger seedings such as pumpkins. The fewer pots the sturdier the tray.

*Not suitable for those allergic to latex.

Natural Rubber Reusable Seed Trays

From £15.99

Quantity

The ubiquitous black plastic seed trays found in garden sheds across the nation. Flimsy and liable to crack. Black plastic is particularly annoying, as exposure to sunlight makes it far more likely to degrade and break into microplastics than other types. These black plastic trays are not designed to be recyclable - recycling centres have trouble with sorting black plastic, so they just don’t. Without any in front of me to confirm exactly what type of plastic they are, my guess is that they are mostly made out of polypropylene or PP (marked out by a number 5) because they are brittle and can be snapped in the same way that other PP items, like yoghurt pots, can be. PP is not recycled in most areas. This means when these plastic seed trays inevitably split, they have to be thrown into landfill… if they haven’t already disintegrated and spread microplastic shards over your garden.
These rubber seed trays are hard wearing and long-lasting. They seem quite heavy duty in comparison, so you can tell you’ll get many years of use out of them. The rubber is flexible, allowing for easy removal of your seedlings when the time comes to repot. You can’t easily crush the tray, as the rubber has good tensile strength, so it can bend without breaking, and it won’t collapse if you hold it too tightly. The top of the tray is tougher than the cells, so you can pop any seedings out easily without compromising the structure of the tray. These seed trays are black - black rubber lasts longer than coloured rubber. Everyone is used to black seed trays now anyway; it would seem strange if they were bright purple or orange!

You may enjoy harvesting the fruits of your labour, but if it was your job you’d want to be treated with respect and rewarded for your effort. This seed tray is made out of natural Fair Rubber, so you can rest assured that production is sustainable and that the workers involved are looked after and compensated fairly for their work.
They are a lot more expensive, granted. But, these seed trays are a well-designed product that will see you through many seasons of gardening fun! The natural rubber from which the trays have been made is fairly traded, and that comes with an added price tag. If something is cheap, someone is usually losing out somewhere, and it is often the already downtrodden members of society who bear this loss for the benefit of the end consumer. The alternatives may be cheap but come with high social and environmental costs.
What is it made from?

100% Fair Rubber (the Fairtrade of rubber) - natural rubber from FCS well-managed forests.

Where is it made?

In Sri Lanka, on a small rubber plantation. Plastic Free Gardening, my supplier, only deals with plantations that have not replaced any natural forest and have a certification to prove this.

Is it sustainable?

Natural Rubber – Tapped straight from living and growing rubber trees, natural rubber is the sap of this kind of tree. Grooves are cut into the tree and a container is attached to the trunk for the sap to collect in. There are issues with monoculture plantations of rubber trees in some countries, but natural rubber is a much more eco-friendly option than synthetic rubber which is synthesised from crude oil. As you no doubt know, synthetic rubber doesn’t biodegrade but instead breaks down into harmful microplastics. As rubber trees are not cut down to access the sap, they are useful for CO2 capture and storage.

Is it ethical?

This is Fair Rubber – which has an open and transparent supply chain. Fair Rubber is the equivalent of Fairtrade for rubber. Fairtrade has its limitations, as it only covers certain commodities such as coffee, chocolate and sugar. Fair Rubber works to ensure that rubber tappers work under fair conditions and are paid fairly, currently 40% higher than the market price, which is the fair-trade premium. This helps provide a regular income to the workers. They also make sure that the rubber is produced to a certain standard. The rubber used by Plastic Free Gardening is also FSC certified.

Plastic Free Gardening support this alternative trade system with their business, one that promotes and implements a fairer system for workers and protects the environment and animal welfare. All of their products are produced under this fair-trade system and they pay the fair-trade premium to all of the producers they work with, which helps benefits the communities in these areas.

Extra Good Stuff:

I now get my stock directly from the original designer of these brilliant seed trays, Martin, the co-founder of Plastic Free Gardening, who is based in London. Martin is a keen gardener, who is helping make gardening greener using his knowledge of how to source ethical and sustainable products and applying these practices to his hobby.

Conclusion:

Go potty for these long-lasting, Fair Rubber, plastic-free seed trays!