The charger, powerful enough to charge a smartphone over five times, has been designed by Gomi, in the North Laine, Brighton. Tom Meades, who graduated from the University of Brighton in 2017 with a 3D Design and Craft BA(Hons) degree, is the lead designer and manager at Gomi.
He and partners, Pawan Saunya, Kyle Brackenfield and Rishi Gupta, are focused on the circular economy, making products with non-recyclable plastic waste that would otherwise end up in landfill, incinerated or dumped in the ocean.
Tom said: “Over the past nine months, we have diverted around 500kg of local ‘non-recyclable’ plastic packaging waste from going to landfill.
“We hope that by introducing an affordable, fully-circular product built from recycled plastic material, we can increase this amount by over 10 times, helping to clean the planet of pollutant waste streams, but also creating fun, everyday cherished products that people love to use.”
Gomi originally won £10,000 from the Environment Now Programme to kickstart their business in 2018. Their first sustainable innovation, Gomi Speakers, took them to Downing Street where they impressed upon Government business officials the importance of sustainable products.
Their new portable charger, retailing at under £40, is being backed by members of the public through Gomi’s Kickstarter investment campaign which reached 155% of its target in just two days.