At the beginning of June, The Vegan Society launched new plastic-free packaging for our vegan multivitamin, VEG 1.
The change was highly requested from our members and other VEG 1 users, with calls flooding our inboxes and appearing in the comment section across our social media channels. Taking your valued feedback on board, we switched up the old pot for a 100% plastic-free aluminium tin, perfect for our multivitamins. Tin is an excellent packaging material for supplement products due to its low moisture transition rate and durability. These qualities also make it perfect for re-use. Although aluminium is easily recycled and has one of the highest recycling rates of all primary packaging materials, we would like to encourage our customers to re-purpose their tins wherever they can. A great way to drive down our collective carbon footprint and edge closer to a more circular economy is to re-use and re-purpose what we have readily available. Keep reading for some fun ideas on how you can re-purpose your spare VEG 1 containers.
Step one (optional): get crafty!
Although we think the VEG 1 branding is simply stunning, we understand that it may not go with your home décor. That doesn’t mean you can’t re-purpose your tin and create something more suited to your taste though. All you need to do is have a craft day!
We know that arts and crafts may not come naturally to you. If you shy away from getting creative, fearing it’ll be too tricky and that you lack a natural artistic flare, don’t worry! Thankfully, crafty doesn’t need to mean complicated. We jazzed up these old VEG 1 tins with nothing but a lick of paint, a glue gun and some jute rope! Of course, if you’d prefer to avoid the crafts and re-use the tins as they are, that’s fine too.
Painting
One sure way to give your tin a new look is with some coats of paint. All you need is vegan paint suitable for metal surfaces, a small paintbrush, and you’re good to go. If you wanted to take it one step further, why not try some stencils, or paint a cute design by hand? Some of our favourite designs are polka dots, flowers, or abstract shapes, but we encourage you to get creative!
Covering
Another option for styling your tin is to cover it with jute rope or a similar material. We used a mix of jute and 100% recycled cotton macrame cord in 1.5mm thickness. You can wrap this around the tin and secure it with a few knots or a cute bow. However, if you have access to a glue gun, we recommend using this in places for a more secure and longer-lasting finish.
Now that your tins have had a salon-style makeover, you can choose how to use them. We’ve included five fabulous ideas below to help you out!
A 
planter
Being a plant parent can be expensive, with high-maintenance plants consistently needing re-potting or larger plants sprouting plant babies that need a new home. No matter what size tin you have spare, they work well as planters for small succulents, cacti, or plant babies. We recommend adding some stones to the bottom of the tin to ensure your plants have sufficient drainage or even drilling a small hole in the tin base. Or you can use it for rooting your cuttings.
A pen pot
Whether you’re still working from home or back in the office, a pen pot is not only practical but can also brighten up your desk. Either size VEG 1 tin can be re-purposed as a pen pot, and if you have multiple containers to use, you can even glue a few together to make a stationary stand. We created this pen pot by painting a VEG 1 180 tin, a VEG 1 90 tin and glueing them together.
A scrunchie/bobble holder
Bobby pins lost in a void, hair ties nowhere to be found except for the one on your wrist; sound familiar? Finding easy ways to store scrunchies, bobbles, and other hair accessories can feel impossible, but an unlikely option is actually an old cylindrical tin. Scrunchies and bobbles can be placed around the container, while the inside can store other accessories such as bobby pins, hair clips and hair ties. It’s practical and looks cute on your dressing table!
A vase for small flowers and foliage 
Who doesn’t love filling their home with beautiful flowers? Whether you prefer fresh or dried flowers, your up-cycled VEG 1 tin can work perfectly as a vase. Due to the narrow design of the tins, they are super handy for a smaller bunch that just won’t sit right in a larger vase.
A pot for your bamboo toothbrush
Another option is to use your VEG 1 tin in a bathroom to store your bamboo toothbrush, toothpaste, or other bathroom essentials. We have shown it in this image as a pot for a toothbrush. However, the tin can also make an excellent bathroom storage option for reusable cotton pads, razors or menstrual products.
When it comes to re-using and re-purposing your tins, the world really is your oyster mushroom. Your VEG 1 tin can become whatever you need it to be, and we hope we’ve sparked a few ideas. The main aim is to reduce waste and become more conscious of what we throw away, opting to utilise what we already have rather than buying new. Not only is it better for the environment, but you may also find a new hobby in the process and tap into a creative, crafty side you never knew you had!
We’d love to see how you chose to re-purpose your tin. Please share your creations with us by emailing images to veg1[at]vegansociety[dot]com.
Need to stock up? You can purchase VEG 1 directly from our webshop.
Keep an eye on our socials for more ideas on how to re-purpose your VEG 1 tins!
The views expressed by our bloggers are not necessarily the views of The Vegan Society.
