Seeded Promotions (asi/86180), a supplier with offices in Atlanta and a manufacturing facility in Pottsville, PA, has launched a new upcycling initiative that transforms discarded agricultural materials into durable grow bags. The initiative directly supports women artisans in rural India, creating meaningful employment while reducing global waste, according to CEO Kees Wurth.

Seeded Promotions (asi/86180) is working with women artisans in India to upcycle agricultural waste from the tea industry into grow bags featuring non-GMO and organic seeds.

Working with a company called Eco Trends in India, Seeded Promotions takes discarded polypropylene sacks, used to transport and store tea leaves, and transforms them into planters. According to the supplier, more than 2.2 billion pounds of tea are produced in the country each year. At India’s nearly 2,000 registered tea factories, tea leaves are processed and stored before distribution, often in nonbiodegradable plastic sacks. After limited reuse, many of the sacks are thrown away, and with recycling systems scarce, the used bags end up in landfills, waterways or open dumps. Over time, polypropylene breaks down into microplastics, contaminating soil and water. Sacks may also be burned, which releases fumes that negatively affect air quality and public health.

Eco Trends collects the used tea sacks directly from factories to give them a second life. The initiative says it processes around 200,000 to 300,000 sacks annually, transforming them into about 750,000 functional products. In addition to lessening environmental impact, the company also adds a layer of social responsibility to its operations through women-led artisan cooperatives that handcraft upcycled products.

Seeded Promotions works with an initiative that provides meaningful work and living wages to women artisans in India.

Wurth notes that Seeded Promotions’ partnership with Eco Trends creates a story-rich alternative to traditional promotional products – one that grows plants and strengthens communities. The supplier pairs the upcycled bags with soil or “growing medium” pellets, non-GMO seeds and detailed care instructions to create its signature grow kits.

“Every grow bag is a symbol of second chances – both for materials and for communities,” Wurth says. “Clients want sustainability that feels real – not just green copy.”

Seeded Promotions has been around for 30 years, mostly focused on creating all-in-one grow kits for retail. Sustainability has always been a part of its story, Wurth says. Other than the upcycled plastic used in its new grow kits for promo, the supplier says it eschews plastic in its products. When possible, the firm works with domestic partners to source its terracotta and paper planters, as a way, in part, to cut down on emissions associated with long-distance shipping. Some seeds, Wurth adds, can be sourced domestically as well, but to ensure the best quality, the supplier takes a more global approach. Lavender seeds, for example, come from France, and some of its vegetable varieties come from Poland.

Seeded Promotions is also stringent about testing its seeds to ensure quality, and purposely chooses varieties that are relatively easy to grow. “Our motto is to make gardening accessible to everybody – no green thumb required,” Wurth says.

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