Marlow Ropes are always looking to the future with innovation, development and sustainability and are proud to have been manufacturing rope on the same premises in Hailsham (UK) for over 200 years.

This Earth Day we continue with our commitment to recycling and the environment, which is integral to our company ethos. We make a concerted effort to tackle the growing problem with landfill waste in the UK by producing all rope on-site which enables us to control how much is recycled and where it goes. In 2017, we recycled 13 tonnes of cardboard, 6 tonnes of plastic and 6.3 tonnes of wood and plans are afoot to improve efforts this year.

Plastic pollution is a well-documented global issue and with recent news that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is now 3 times the size of France, the urgency to crackdown on plastic is bigger than ever. In 2017, it was estimated that 12 million tonnes of plastic enter the oceans every year along with other marine material such as fishing nets and buoys. With this mind, the small amount of plastic that we have in our plastic is being phased out as we aim to put a stop to one-use plastics in all our product packaging.

We work closely with leading associations such as the British Marine, The Royal Yachting Association and the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association, and work with elite teams such as the British Sailing Team and the US Sailing Team to educate customers and clients on getting the most out of their high quality ropes so that they last longer, and, in the event of retiring the rope, they can do so responsibly.

Paul Dyer, Marlow’s Technical Manager said. “Retired rope can be used in a variety of different ways in and around your boat, garden and home. Our quality products can last for decades, even after its primary purpose has been served.”

We are in the process of assessing alternative ways to package our leading products and in using recycled materials in the manufacture of our products. We currently ship globally using 100% recycled boxes and our reels are packaged with cardboard reels which all adds to our low waste mission.

Keep an eye on our social media channels to keep updated on all our environmental changes and developments throughout the rest of the year.