Xavier's business is catching old fishing nets before they reach the ocean, one dog lead at a time

“A lot of people are talking about plastic bottles and straws, but around 46 per cent of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is ghost net material from fishers.”

These are the words of Xavier Warburton, Co-Founder of Tangle – a Portsmouth-based company using recycled fishing gear to make pet products.

“I believe if you have the opportunity to set up a business, you should try do something positive rather than negative,” he explained.

“I helped on a lot of boats while I was at university, so I saw first hand the plastic pollution problem in seas.

“It was ticking away in the back of my mind for 6 or 7 years, then one day I was looking at all the different products in a pet store and thought ‘there must be a better way’.

“The material they make fishing nets out of is built to last in the depths of the ocean, so it’s really durable, and people are looking for waterproof products for their pets, so it’s pretty much the perfect material.

“I’ve spent so much time out in the rain, walking my dog, and I hated how the lead would stink afterwards. That’s how the whole thing came together really.”

Working with partners at ports, Tangle incentivises fishers to trade in their old nets rather than throwing them overboard.

“If your tap is leaking, you don’t just clean up the water, you go back to the source and fix it”

They then take these and break them down into small green pellets, which can be remoulded into a variety of different forms.

For the leads, for example, these pellets are turned into a thin yarn which is then woven into a braided rope, while their bowls are injection-moulded.

“We want to make something people don’t want to throw away, so the design needs to be sexy and sleek, but also practical and functional.

“We also offer a guarantee that if it breaks, you can send it back to us and we’ll send out a new one as well as recycling the old one.

“It’s about setting up a circular life cycle where every product we make comes back to us to be recycled and sent out again. That way, we don’t need to be killing our oceans and planet with a set amount of material – we can go for a long time self-sustainably.”

Tangle have set themselves a goal of stopping 137,800 square metres, the equivalent of 526 tennis courts, of fishing nets becoming ghost nets by the end of 2023, a target they’re currently on course to meet.

“That’s driven through sales – the more we sell, the more impact we can have – which is why we’ve set up as a brand as it makes it easier for us to make kickass products people tell their friends about, while making an impact using recycled materials.”

Tangle also use the proceeds from their products to support Ghost Fishing UK, an organisation which goes out into the ocean to recover discarded fishing nets.

“One day we’d love to get even more involved in this side of things, but it’s all a process of growth.

“We’d also like to expand to other pets beyond dogs, and then into new sectors such as babies and homeware.

“For now though, we’re focused on trying to make the best-in-class pet products in a sustainable way. I think everyone should be trying to be more sustainable, and I think everyone can be – it’s just about making it easier for them.

“I also hope more businesses like ours start so we can meet those people and the planet will be better off for it, we’re also looking to work with other sustainable companies.”

Tangle’s products can be purchased through their website, https://tanglemission.com/, and businesses interested in collaborating can reach out via email at xavier@tanglemission.com.