Sack cloth. It's been around for centuries and was once commonly used for clothing. Nowadays more modern tend to be preferred when it comes to choosing what to wear but there are still those who wear sack cloth, including some who fashion it into impressive garments.

There are other things you can do to repurpose this very useful fabric, from wall decor and functional curtains (we have both in the roastery), to decorative ornaments and all manner of gardening uses (weed barriers, biodegradable potato-growing sacks, the list goes on).

And this brings us to a little challenge we have for you.

As a coffee roastery, we receive our unroasted beans in these hessian sacks so, as you can probably imagine, we end up with a LOT of empty sacks over time.

Some we've put to good use ourselves but we only have so many shelves to hide behind curtains and only so much wall space to hang framed sacks.

And that's where you come in. We don't like waste so we'd like to see our coffee sacks repurposed as much as possible. And we'd love to see the many and varied ways you can find to repurpose or upcycle this coffee industry by-product.

So if you can make use of any, we'd love to hear from you. We're happy to post one or two for free along with your coffee if you're placing an order. If you're local, you're welcome to collect some (just get in touch first so we can make sure we're in when you call). If you're further afield and would like a few, let us know and we'll see what we can sort out for getting them to you.

Our friend Malcolm, pictured left, has already taken up the challenge by fashioning this very quick garment out of one of our empty sacks. We reckon with a little more time (and maybe a sewing machine) you could come up with your own result with added WOW factor.

We'd love to know what becomes of the sacks after they leave us so if you are able to make use of any, we'd love you so send us photos of their new lease of life or share them on social media and tag us. Whether you're strutting down the catwalk in an Autumn/Winter 24 sack cloth jacket and bag or planting sacks of potatoes in your back yard, we can't wait to see what you come up with.

Bring on the challenge!