The primary aim of Ron D Swan is to make sustainable products for humans on (and off) bicycles.

We love cycling because of its clean humanpowered nature, its low, low running costs and its avaliability to anyone who wants to get past the boring bits faster (as our friend Rene says).

Reclaiming discards and giving them a new lease on life has always been a passion of the director of Ron D Swan. So much is thrown away that can be put to creative and beautiful use.

We want all our products to stand the test of time in their intended use, but also aim for them to be deconstructed and recycled at the end of their life.

We design, manufacture, market and distribute these products in Australia, and always consider the 5 R's: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle.

This means that we source materials that other people, generally larger industry, throw away. We like to think of ourselves as WOMBLES in that respect. We also consider the whole lifecycle of our materials and the products they are made into. We really, really, dislike waste.

We research the provinance of all our materials, weigh up their pros and cons and reject some materials after this analysis. This also means we have to lobby manufacturers and distributers to offer substitutes to the energy intensive and ecologically unsound plastics that dominate the market.

A legband display made from an old wine rack (lives in Friends of the Earth bookstore)

• CANVAS: this is heavyweight poly/cotton (ie very durable) and is, for the most part, bought as offcuts or roll-ends (either no use, or of very limited use to larger industry and therefore in danger of ending up on the scrap heap). Most of the canvas we use has been woven in India, and is then printed and proofed in Melbourne.

• VINTAGE CANVAS: we have sourced canvas that is up to 40 years old and is still in perfect condition. These are usually the really colourful designs we have. This canvas is all cotton and was grown, woven and printed in Australia.

CANVAS is used as bag outers

• PVC: this is not recyclable so we use it ONLY when sourced as discards. It is a very durable material, so when saved from the scrap heap, we can extend its life and limit its negative environmental impact. If it counts for anything, most of the pvc we source as offcuts is made in Australia.

PVC is used in legbands, pockets, and bag inners. It is also used in hard form as backing boards in panniers.

this is how our plastic fabrics come to us, a bit scruffy and unloved.

• WEBBING: We use polyester seatbelt webbing as it is very strong and durable. Polyester, while a less evil plastic, is still made from oil so we are researching alternatives for the future such as hemp. The really good thing is that all our webbing is made in Melbourne.

Webbing is used on all our bags.

• PLASTIC BUCKLES: On our pannier bags we have used generic plastic buckles, loops and sliders. We are trying to source Australian Made ones at present, but at looks like New Zealand Made is the closest we can get.
• METAL SLIDERS: are used on our shoulder bags. These are all made in China or Taiwan.

• BICYCLE SPOKES: We recognise the strength of the hardened stainless steel bicycle spoke and try to rescue and reuse these by sourcing discarded wheels.

SPOKES were used as hooks in our original panniers, they won't be a part of the new ones unfortunately. But we look for ways to use more spokes, and all parts of the humble spoke. Our quest is not yet complete.

spoke hooks: if only they didn't take an age to make...