Former chef and hospitality professional, Hugo Worsley, makes Japanese kitchen knives accessible to everyday customers in the UK with perfectly crafted recycled plastic handles. Allday Goods started during the COVID lockdowns in his parent’s backyard, and has grown into a business with 6 employees in London, around 88,000 followers on Instagram, and hundreds of satisfied customers from the hospitality industry to the everyday home-chef. 

Two problems to solve at once

Hugo Worsley had worked in restaurants for years, he even had one of his own, so it’s no surprise that when COVID lockdown happened (and everyone was suddenly their own personal chefs), he started getting a lot of requests for kitchen knife recommendations. He quickly realized that there were no affordable, high-quality knives on the market.

At the same time, he found himself reflecting on just how much plastic waste was created in the kitchen environments he had seen throughout his career. Large numbers of tubs, jugs, bottles, etc. are used up in commercial kitchens at a much higher rate than home kitchens or other non-food businesses. He knew the broken recycling system was not processing a lot of that waste, and he thought something should be done about it.

“With a little help from our friends at Precious Plastic we’ve built a shredder machine to turn old plastic waste into pellets.”

Hugo wanted to make a 5-star kitchen knife that was affordable for middle class consumers, in part by making the handle out of plastic waste. So, he collected plastic containers and spent several months running experiments on them using a toaster oven in his parent’s shed. Slowly, he got a sense of how the plastic melted, how firm the grip had to be to twist into patterns, and how long it needed to cool so it didn't warp. In 2021, Hugo finally had a working prototype for his first knife. 

Immediately sold out!

Now he had his knife. But would anyone want to buy it? 

 To test the market, Hugo set up an Instagram account. He announced the release of a small batch of 100 knives, and pressed “publish”. For a moment he probably thought “let’s wait and see”... but the response was overwhelming: He sold out in 76 seconds! 

Clearly, Hugo had found a marketable niche. So, he would make a batch of knives at a time and then sell them every few months. Not bad for a backyard lockdown project!

Partnerships in hospitality

Today, Hugo has a workshop in London and employs 6 people. The knife blades are forged by blacksmiths in Japan and the UK, while another Precious Plastic workspace, Relic, collects all of the plastic waste and melts it into the handles. The workshop makes knives that sell for 90-190€ a piece. And the product line has gained some interest from business partners:

In collaboration with big hospitality brands across the UK, Allday Goods uses their waste to make unique knives and accessories. Notable partnerships include Maldon Sea Salt, Kerrygold, and the ingredient brand Belazu, whose plastic tubs and containers can be found throughout UK kitchens, cafés, and fast food chains. Even high-end restaurants under the Ottolenghi umbrella decided to collaborate with Allday Goods, proving that making kitchen knives accessible has not diminished their appeal to professional clients.

Scaling impact beyond the knife handle

Each knife, and the accessories they come with, are made of 100% plastic waste or sustainable materials: The blades are made of sustainably-produced steel, the knife wrap is made from deadstock fabric, and the packaging is made of recycled materials. And all these things are produced so that they can be recycled again further down the line. 

But the impact of each knife purchase goes beyond just that: 

Allday Goods are a certified B-corporation, which means they aren’t just claiming to be sustainable, but are held to high global standards of financial, environmental and social sustainability. 

And then, there’s the 1%-commitment: Allday Goods donates 1% of all earnings to environmental projects around the world, such as CleanHub. 

Make way for more businesses like “Alldays”

Many businesses around the world use Precious Plastic behind the scenes for their recycling activities. Sometimes we don't even see it or find out years later. Do you know of a business like that, drop in the comments! We would love to see them because that too, is part of our overall impact. We give out the machine plans and community support for free, and see people like Hugo use our machines to make waves where they are.

But we can’t do what we do without your help. If you like what we and people like Hugo are doing, then consider supporting us with your donation: be it 5 dollars or 500 dollars, each donation helps turn plastic waste into a business opportunity in communities around the world.

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