Entrepreneur turns food waste into eco-friendly dyes

Will Besant, founder of Primitive Vision Studios Ltd in Cornwall, has secured funding from the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme to grow his circular economy clothing business that transforms restaurant food waste into natural dyes for organic cotton garments.

Partnering with local restaurants in St Ives, Besant collects raw kitchen waste, such as lemon peel, onion skins, and red cabbage—and uses it to create eco-friendly dyes. These are applied to T-shirts, hoodies, and sweatshirts made from organic cotton sourced from a small, family-run factory in Portugal. The garments include staff uniforms for the same hospitality venues that provide the waste, creating a closed-loop system within the local economy.

Having worked in the catering industry himself, Besant was driven by the volume of food and single-use plastic waste it generates, especially in tourist-heavy St Ives, which sees £85 million in annual visitor spending, making it the second-highest in the UK.

Primitive Vision Studios officially debuted at the St Ives Food & Drink Festival in May and aims to tackle more than just environmental waste. The business also seeks to improve local employment conditions, particularly for young people in a region often dominated by seasonal, low-wage, and zero-hour jobs.