A Cornwall entrepreneur hopes his organic clothing brand will provide a circular solution to the impact of tourism on coastal communities, with the help of £17,000 from the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme.

Will Besant of Primitive Vision Studios has teamed up with restaurants in St Ives to collect their raw food waste, which is then used to create natural fabric dyes to be applied to organic cotton garments including staff uniforms for the same hospitality outlets.

Having worked in the catering industry himself, Will was well aware of the waste it produces, predominantly food and single-use plastic. “This is amplified in a place as popular as St Ives, where tourism generates £85-million a year, the second-highest visitor-related spend in the UK,” he explained.

Kitchen waste is collected by e-bike to minimise the company’s carbon footprint, and processed at Will’s workshop, which is currently located in a converted Grade II listed church, courtesy of St Ives Community Land Trust.

Different vegetables produce a palette of colours from vibrant yellow (from lemon peel discarded in the making of sorbets, which only use the juice) to candy pink (onion skins) and purple (red cabbage). These are applied to T-shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts sourced from a small family-run factory in Portugal.

Among Will’s customers are the same restaurateurs who supplied the source materials.

The business was soft-launched at St Ives Food & Drink Festival in May, and aims to address another problem created by the town’s heavy dependence on tourism: an economy dominated by seasonal employment, especially for young people, and often characterised by low wages and zero-hours contracts.

“We provide year-round employment on a decent salary and a share in the profits,” said Will. In addition, Primitive Vision Studios is working in collaboration with Yonkers – the youth arm of St Ives Town Council – and Falmouth University’s department of fashion and textiles to offer valuable work experience and apprenticeship placements.

The project has been embraced by St Ives businesses and authorities, with a cash injection from the Town Deal Fund.

Part two of the project, dealing with single-use plastic waste, is scheduled for the end of the year. “We’ll collect it from local businesses – St Ives Business Improvement District is on board – and will shred and compress it to make homewares and furniture which might even be used by the same businesses.”

Will, who has global aspirations, added: “The impact of tourism on coastal communities isn’t limited to Cornwall or even the UK. I’ve been invited to Morocco and Mexico to give presentations.”