New car seat cover offers a sustainable alternative
Automotive industry could be doing more to prevent plastic waste
A new car seat cover has been designed to address the problem of plastic waste from car accessories.
Josh Hanning set up automotive accessories company, Hanubu, at the start of the first 2020 lockdown. The 36 year old couldn’t understand why the car accessories market was still flooded with products produced at extremely low cost with very little consideration for durability or lifespan, and felt frustrated at the lack of sustainable practices in manufacturing.
Josh has a love for anything with an engine that allows that freedom of the open road. But he also cares about wildlife and the oceans, being fascinated by sharks since he was a child. He found caring for nature but also recognising the impact transport has on the planet, a conflict of interest.
It was at this point Josh realised he couldn’t be a bystander and wanted to join the collective movement towards a cleaner automotive industry, but as an accessories partner that wanted to bring quality and ethical practices into the mainstream.
Josh Hanning, CEO of Hanubu, comments: “Despite there being thousands of products purchased for our cars every day worldwide, very few are created sustainably and built to last. Hanubu was born to change this. We want to finally give consumers the choice they deserve. Up until now, they have been forced to buy car seat covers made with cheap materials and harmful chemicals, which doesn’t compliment how people feel about their cars.”
Hanubu is on a mission to raise awareness of this issue to car owners, who perhaps don’t consider plastics used in car accessories in the same way they would in using plastic bags or bottles. PVC takes over 100 years to decompose, and according to Greenpeace, poses a serious threat to human health and the environment. Used for its waterproofing properties in car seat covers, it is often combined with other hazardous materials making it impossible to recycle efficiently. It’s also not just a UK issue, of the 8.3bn tonnes of virgin plastic produced worldwide, only 9% has been recycled, according to a 2017 Science Advances paper entitled Production, Use And Fate Of All Plastics Ever Made.
Hanubu has launched their first product this month, exclusively sold on Amazon. Karasu is a premium rear car seat cover that has been made using automotive grade materials and boasts an extraordinary eco-friendly fabric coating that is proven to kill 95% of bacteria and viruses on contact including Coronavirus, certified by the The University of Cambridge Biosciences department.
It’s the first cover to offer protection for the vehicle and passengers, reassuring anyone using the product that it is both safe and durable. Especially as the tests even involved mimicking sneezes and water droplets that would come from a passenger.
Josh adds: “Our car seat covers combine carbon-free waterproofing, eco-friendly antiviral protection and plastic free packaging. We have also committed to helping recycle them at end of life. We’re determined to make a positive impact, helping customers contribute less plastic waste to landfill.”
“As a mobility focused brand, our ultimate goal is to bring customers more choice in this overlooked market. By doing so, we’ll play our part in reducing the amount of plastic produced, contributing to the circular economy and making people feel proud about what they buy for their cars.”
Hanubu are currently in talks with a number of private hire and leasing firms to discuss the application of the seat covers in the growing car sharing, leasing and mobility sectors.
Karasu, now on sale, RRP: £69.99 https://tinyurl.com/jj8xmasc
