Keeleco: Tarantula

Soft toy made from 100% recycled materials. Part of the keeleco range from Keel Toys, this eco-friendly cuddly toy is manufactured and stuffed with 100% recycled polyester from plastic waste.

Weighted with recycled glass beads, and with cotton embroidered eyes instead of the traditional glass eyes, each keeleco soft toy has a unique and playful character.

Even the iconic Keel logo and hang tag have been formed from sustainably sourced card and are attached to the toy with cotton. The sew-in label is also recycled.

Did you know? 10 water bottles create enough fibre to make an 18cm soft toy.

The process involved:

Stage 1

Single use plastics and bottles have become one of the hot topics over the last few years resulting in the increased use of recycled polyester. Recycled polyester, also known as rPET, is obtained by first collecting bottles and other plastic waste and cleaning them. 

Stage 2

The clean bottles are then shredded. 

Stage 3

The shredded bottles are then crushed and formed in to pellets. 

Stage 4

The pellets are then crushed and melted to create the yarn.

Stage 5

The yarn is then spun to create the thread. The thread is then woven to create the base fabric. This process gives plastic a second life and uses 59% less energy to produce than virgin polyester.

Size: 15cm