Wild New Zealand coastline with black sand beach and turquoise sea

Saltwater Scraps

One-of-a-kind tote bags, hand-made from rescued fabric — celebrating the sea life of Aotearoa.

Vote for your favourites Our story
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100%
Recycled & rescued fabrics
16
Original sea-life designs
15%
Of profits to Forest & Bird
1 of a kind
Every single bag is unique
Made by students · made for the moana

Tote-ally sustainable

We're a team of five Onslow College students on a mission. We rescue pre-loved fabric from local op shops and reimagine it as beautiful, hand-made tote bags — each cut, sewn, embroidered and painted by hand. Every bag replaces single-use plastic, celebrates the creatures most threatened by ocean pollution, and gives back to the coast we love.

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Rescued, not wasted

100% of our materials are sourced second-hand from op shops — fabric that would otherwise be thrown away.

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For the sea life

Our designs celebrate the marine creatures directly harmed by plastic and pollution.

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Truly hand-made

Each bag is individually crafted, so no two are ever the same. You own an original.

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Giving back

We donate 15% of our profits to Forest & Bird to protect Aotearoa's wild places.

Our range so far

16 designs — which are your favourites?

Before we decide how many of each to make, we'd love your help. Tap “Add to my favourites” on the designs you love. They'll be added to your ranked list below — put your number 1 at the top!

Have your say

Help us make the right bags

Your feedback decides which designs we produce and how we price them. It takes about a minute — thank you for helping a student business succeed! 💚

1 Your ranked favourites

Drag to reorder, or use the arrows. Top = your number 1.

🌊 No favourites yet — head up to the designs and tap the ones you love.

    2 What would you pay?

    For one hand-made, one-of-a-kind bag like your top pick.

    $30
    $10$35$60+

    By clicking submit you are agreeing that the students can include your ratings in their school project analysis.

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    Ngā mihi nui — thank you!

    Your feedback has been received and will help us decide which bags to make. You're now part of the Saltwater Scraps story.

    Change my answers

    15% of profits donated

    Protecting the creatures we celebrate

    The sea life on our bags — whale sharks, dolphins, rays and more — are the very creatures most harmed by plastic waste and pollution. That's why we donate 15% of every dollar of profit to Forest & Bird, New Zealand's independent conservation charity, working to protect our native species and wild places.

    When you carry a Saltwater Scraps bag, you're keeping fabric out of landfill, plastic out of the ocean, and putting money back into protecting Aotearoa's coast. 🌏

    Rugged New Zealand coastline with native tussock and driftwood