Abigail Forsyth on waste and less stuff

It’s been an amazing journey. I thought I was going to run it from my lounge room … and I thought: I’ve got a pretty big shed I’ll put the boxes in there. But it’s taken me all around the world. I’ve met the most amazing people. It’s been the journey of a lifetime.

The idea of single use packaging has moved in trends. Decades ago, it would have been unthinkable. Then it became normal. Joost Bakker (of zero waste Joost) has said that years from now people will be embarrassed to be seen drinking from disposable cups.

Right now? It appears we’re at a turning point.

Abigail Forsyth came up with the idea for KeepCup around the time everyone was doing the disposable thing. She recalls filling up her daughter’s sippy cup with milk and wondering what it would be like to throw it out every time she had a drink, and realising with horror that this was what customers did everyday in her café.

KeepCup was created as a solution for more sustainable and environmentally conscious ways to serve food.

The following interview was recorded in front of a live audience at Purpose 2015, a two-day gathering for purpose driven business. This event was produced by the talented team of experience designers at Wildwon Projects. To find out more, visit purpose.do.

About Abigail

Abigail’s entrepreneurial spirit was kick-started when she caught sight of opportunity as an eleven year old, selling sandwiches in the business park where her father worked during her school holidays. In 1998 Abigail left law to start up Bluebag – feel good food; a chain of fresh and healthy sandwich shops in Melbourne’s CBD, with her brother Jamie Forsyth. After twelve years the business was sold in 2010, having provided the idea and stepping stone for her latest venture, KeepCup. The large volumes of disposable packaging and waste alarmed Abigail, so the search began for more sustainable and environmentally conscious ways to serve food.