Eco Entrepreneurs

Brian Pemberton, ReSACKel bags

Derived from traditional rice sacks collected here and just across the border, Brian Pemberton’s ReSACKel bags are unmistakably genuine and come straight from the heart of a passionate local environmentalist. His idea naturally came in response to Hong Kong’s notorious plastic bag habit. Government figures reveal that we use a whopping 8 billion bags per year, which amounts to about three bags per person each day. All end up in landfills that are predicted to clog up in about eight years.

Pemberton’s bag is an example of how even the simplest of ideas can contribute to the “circular economy.” His first sack was scavenged off a man on the street. Pemberton took it home, chopped it up and stitched it together. From these humble beginnings eventually came the line that’s now just been launched by ThreeSixty.

While he faced a tough struggle earning others’ trust in the idea before they went into business with him, Pemberton is confident opportunities are growing for similar green businesses. “The green movement is something that’s growing and isn’t going to go away,” he says. “Quality and value for money is going to become more important, and people want things that can be used time and time again, not once and then thrown away.”
ReSACKel bags are available at ThreeSixty for $50 each.
See www.reSackel.com.

Boyd Boxshall, Verte vertical plantscapes

Anyone starting to get sick of brick will want to check out Verte’s vertical plantscapes. Also known as “green walls,” they’re essentially vertical gardens, said to improve a building’s aesthetics, energy-efficiency, temperature, and air quality. Australian co-owner Boyd Boxshall says the trend has only really started spreading around the world in the last ten years, thanks to new technologies in the growing field of green architecture known as “biotecture.” His plantscapes grow from a near-hydroponic medium that is soil-less, organic and biodegradable, and requires little maintenance.

Verte’s Hong Kong clients include big development firms such as SinoLand, architects, and interior designers. An environmental scientist, Boxshall says his own interest is to mitigate the heat island effect in Hong Kong. Green walls, he says, have been shown to reduce a building’s core temperature and stabilize its internal temperatures.

Set up in Hong Kong in 2007, Boxshall’s company now boasts clients in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Dubai. One reason for this international expansion is a lack of large-scale local interest here. Nonetheless, Boxshall is certain demand for green walls here is about to grow. “There’s a lot of exciting potential right now,” he says, “Hong Kong’s the right place for it because horizontal space is at an absolute premium. The only way for gardens now is upwards.”
To learn more about Verte and vertical landscapes, visit verte-asia.com.

Julia Washbourne, Bamboa

Since starting her company bamboo company Bamboa last August, Julia Washbourne has been tirelessly singing the praises of what she calls “the wonder plant of this planet.”