Pottery For The Planet has been making the case against single-use culture since 2015. Founded by Clare Botfield and Renton Bishopric, two environmentalists who first connected through activism in 2006, the brand grew from a simple idea: that a beautiful, durable ceramic cup could replace thousands of disposable ones.

They became Australia's #1 ceramic reusable coffee cup, and built a brand where sustainability is baked into every decision. Solar-fired electric kilns. In-house glazes applied by hand. Packaging sourced from donated materials from other local businesses. Every choice runs through the same filter.

But the team, based in Noosa on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, wanted to go further. The ocean isn't a backdrop for them, it's part of everyday life. And that made the growing plastic crisis feel personal.

We sat down with Andre Ali, Marketing Manager at Pottery For The Planet, to hear how the partnership came together and what it has meant for the business.

Why did you decide to partner with Ecodrive?

"We decided to partner with Ecodrive because they make it easy for businesses like ours to support real environmental projects in a transparent and meaningful way. What we particularly value is the level of transparency built into the process. After a purchase, customers receive an Impact ID linked to the project they supported. Once the impact has been carried out, it is tracked and documented with photo evidence that is sent back to the customer.

Too often donations disappear into the background and you never really know where the money ended up. With Ecodrive, the process is visible and tangible, which helps build trust and makes the impact feel real for our customers."

Why did you land on the 4ocean plastic removal project?

"We chose to support the plastic and trash removal project carried out by 4ocean because it closely aligns with the mission that Pottery For The Planet was founded on. While we focus on helping people reduce waste through reuse, supporting 4ocean allows us to also contribute to cleaning up plastic that has already entered the environment. Together, this creates a more complete approach to tackling the problem of plastic pollution."

How has the setup and integration been?

"Partnering with Ecodrive has been a very smooth process. We had an initial call with Josie who helped walk us through the platform, and Grace has been incredibly helpful throughout. She supported us as we set everything up on the backend and integrated it with our Shopify store, and was always available to help troubleshoot any issues along the way."

The Results

Customers are connecting with it, and the numbers speak for themselves:

• 27% increase in sales velocity
• 19% increase in monthly orders
• 25% improvement in return customer activity
• 34% of customers opting in to pull additional plastic at checkout, on top of the impact made automatically with every order

"It turns a transaction into something more meaningful, and that has translated into encouraging engagement and loyalty from our customers."

The Bigger Picture

To date, Pottery For The Planet's customers have helped pull over 15,000 plastic bottles worth of waste from the ocean. With every order, Pottery For The Planet automatically pulls the equivalent of one plastic bottle's worth of waste from the ocean. Customers are then invited at checkout to go further and add to the community's collective impact.

For other brands thinking about taking a similar step, Andre Ali's advice is simple: pick one thing and mean it.

"Make sure that whatever impact initiative you choose genuinely aligns with your values and your mission. Choose one clear area of impact rather than trying to do too many things at once. When the impact connects naturally with what your brand stands for, the story becomes authentic and much easier to communicate."

For Pottery For The Planet, that focus is clear. Co-founder Renton Bishopric puts it plainly:

"Single-use mentality is something that society has to move away from as quickly as possible if we hope to create a sustainable future for generations to come."
— Renton Bishopric, Co-founder, Pottery For The Planet

A note from Ecodrive:

Pottery For The Planet has continued to make impact since this original blog was published.

Check out their live impact numbers here to learn more and see real evidence of their impact.