Sustainable Ceramics at The Clay Mill

It’s a fair question, and at The Clay Mill, we believe in being upfront.

Honestly, making pottery isn’t the greenest of crafts. Clay and other ingredients, like minerals for glazes, are mined, shipped, and fired in kilns powered by electricity, which is often produced using fossil fuels. Like many others, we’re concerned about climate change, global over-consumption and resource waste. That’s why we're actively working to reduce our environmental impact at every stage.

• Our clay supplies come from Stoke-on-Trent, where our suppliers source most of their clay and minerals locally.
• Soft clay waste is re-wedged at the end of each session and reused, saving energy-intensive recycling processes.
• Clay that is too dry to reuse is collected and fully recycled.
• Only clay tools are washed in the sinks, which are fitted with a sediment trap to stop clay from entering the drainage system.

• We prioritise in-house dipping glazes, which come in dry form (less transport weight) and are mixed onsite, cutting down on shipping and waste.
• To support creative exploration, we do still offer premixed brush-on glazes in our shop. However, we educate members on the environmental benefits of dipping alternatives and actively encourage the use of our in-house dipping glazes.
• A 3-bucket cleaning system helps us safely clean tools and we are working on ways to without pouring glaze waste down the drain.

• We only fire kilns when they’re completely full - no wasteful half-loads.
• Members are encouraged to only fire pieces they truly want, reducing unnecessary energy use.
• We have recently invested in more efficient kilns that are more energy-efficient, saving around 2 hours of power per glaze firing.
• We run regular studio pot sales to repurpose unclaimed or unused work and avoid them going to waste (or landfill).