FAQ's

Elvis & Kresse is based in Kent. Our full address is: Elvis & Kresse, New Barns Farm, Box Lane, Painters Forstal, Kent, ME13 0RU, United Kingdom.

Absolutely! We have our workshop in Kent. Please do come and visit. It is an open workshop; therefore anyone can pop in at anytime during opening hours. Alternatively, you can visit our Stockists and view our products there.

Yes. All of our products come with a 1 year warranty. However, we want to avoid anything going into landfill, so we will always endeavour to repair any of our products where possible. Even after 25 years, we will gladly fix any items if this means it can keep giving back. Just get in touch with our team and we will do our best to help.

Our products are made either in our workshop in Kent, UK or in our own manufacturing in Istanbul, Turkey. We do not sub-contract to third party manufacturers.

We are genuinely open, transparent, kind and run open-book accounting with all our stakeholders and associated charities. All our staff are paid very well. We don’t accept any sort of discrimination in the workplace and we do not believe in treating anyone unfairly.

All our items are handmade from reclaimed materials. Whether this is decommissioned fire-hose, luxury leather off-cuts, auction banners, printing blanket, or military-grade parachute silk. Our packaging is also reclaimed, and we are fully powered by renewable energy. We treat our own waste water on-site at our low-carbon workshop at our regenerative farm.

Yes we do! If your item has been damaged we would love to help. We offer repairs, at cost. The best thing to do is to send a picture to,support@elvisandkresse.com with a brief description of the repairs you are interested in. We will then provide a quote and approximate time frame for the repair. You will not be committed to any repair cost without your prior approval.

Yes! If your size has changed we can definitely help to decrease or increase the size of your belt. We have designed the belts in order to facilitate this. The process works as follows: You tell us exactly how much bigger or smaller you would like your belt to be. Then send it in and we will charge £7.50 plus return shipping for the work. This process typically takes less than a week depending on how busy we are in the workshop.

Yes, we are! We are a founding UK B Corporation, a certified Social Enterprise, and a fully accredited real Living Wage Employer by the Living Wage Foundation for all our employees and throughout all our sites (UK and Istanbul)!

The entire Elvis & Kresse Fire-hose Collection and Printing Blanket collections are vegan.

All our items are handmade from reclaimed materials. Whether this is decommissioned fire-hose, luxury leather off-cuts, auction banners, printing blanket, or military-grade parachute silk. Our packaging is also reclaimed, and we are fully powered by renewable energy. We treat our own waste water on-site at our low-carbon workshop at our regenerative farm.

Our pricing is based strictly on the labour costs involved in producing them. We pay all our craftsmen very good wages to hand-make all our pieces and don’t believe in underpaying. We have strict quality control, giving all our items the best chance at the longest life possible.

We have an exclusive agreement with Burberry due to our five year partnership with the Burberry Foundation. Our leather items are produced using Burberry off-cut leather.

We ship internationally. All items can be delivered worldwide. For any queries please contact us.

No. We never hold any sales. You can read how we feel about sales, such as 'Black Friday', here.

Of course. We can personalise most of our products by request. Most products have this option already available on our E-boutique. We use laser to achieve a delicate personalisation. The font we use is Times New Roman and we suggest keeping any messages to about 20 characters long. If in doubt, please contact our team on support@elvisandkresse.com

Absolutely. A lot of our behind-the-scenes work includes commission work. We’ve worked with a lot of big brands in the UK already such as Burberry, Wahaca, Cook, Deloitte, Manchester University, and IKEA to name a few. If you would like to contact us about anything specific or view previous projects, please contact our team.

Absolutely. We are happy to produce custom or bespoke products whenever we have the ability to. Please contact our team with your enquiry. We also offer completely bespoke leather rugs as well at no extra cost.

Of course. You can view our most popular corporate gifts here. We have successfully worked alongside numerous companies in the past. We can customise items by laser etching your company logo and any text you would like onto most of our pieces. Most corporations that come to us look for sustainable corporate gifts, ethical corporate gifts, or eco-friendly corporate gifts, but of course we welcome everyone. Please contact our team directly with any requests.

Yes we do. We work with a select few interior designers. Please contact our team directly with any queries.

We’ve developed our own unique way of producing our pieces, this includes keeping the materials natural durability whilst minimising the weight of items. You would be surprised. When comparing our pieces to other luxury products of the same size, ours are usually the same - if not less.

For example:

Our Small Post Bag is between 0.5 and 0.6 Kgs
Our Classic Tote Bag is approximately 1 kg
Our Boho bag is just 0.65 Kgs

The hose in its raw form is heavy but we re-engineer the hose so that it is perfectly usable to make bags and accessories. Our Messenger Bag for example weighs approximately 1.350 kg, we also weighed an equivalent leather messenger bag from a well-known leather bag maker and ours was actually a few grams lighter (and our bag was slightly bigger too!).

All of our products are made from reclaimed materials that were otherwise destined for landfill. Our first line is made with genuine decommissioned British fire-hose that we collect from various Fire Brigades across the UK. We now incorporate many other reclaimed materials into our collections, most noticeably leather and printing blanket. The peripherals are also made with reclaimed materials: coffee sacks, reclaimed closed-cell foam, old auction banners, used tea sacks and waste parachute silk for lining our bags and wallets.

To date our donations have gone to the Fire Fighters Charity, Barefoot College, British Forces Foundation, The Costa Foundation and two coffee grower initiatives. One to build a spent domestic water filtration system at Jesus Maria in Nicaragua and the other to construct accommodation, kitchens and lavatories at Santa Ana La Huerta in Guatemala. We are closing in on exceeding £300,000.00 in donations since 2005!

More than 360 tonnes... and counting!!

Because of the robust nature of the fire-hose (some of the hoses are already more than 25 years old), our products should not need much looking after, that's the beauty of it! However, if you do want to spruce up your Elvis & Kresse accessory then eco-friendly furniture polish and a rag works wonders.

All our packaging is rescued, reclaimed or recycled. We are constantly updating our raw materials as we find new ones, but this is our current list:

- Tea sacks
- Printing Blanket
- Tea bag paper
- Newspaper
- Coffee Sacks
- Air Traffic Control Flight Strips
- Shoe boxes
- Parachute silk
- End-of-line labels
- Rescued textiles from Burberry

We take great pride in the way we package your luxuries.

We do sometimes. If you are interested in working with us as an affiliate please email us.

* All returns or exchanges must be clearly labelled as such, particularly for items coming back to us from outside of the UK.

Returns
Our policy lasts 30 days from purchase. If 30 days have gone by since your purchase, unfortunately we can’t offer you a refund or exchange.

To be eligible for a return, your item must be unused and in the same condition that you received it. It must also be in the original packaging.

Products that have been personalised cannot be returned or exchanged unless they have a fault.

Additional non-returnable items:
Gift cards

To complete your return, we require your order number, receipt, or proof of purchase.

Refunds (if applicable)
Once your return is received and inspected, we will send you an email to notify you that we have received your returned item. We will also notify you of the approval or rejection of your refund. A restocking fee may apply, which will be deducted from the final refund.
If your refund is approved, then your refund will be processed, and a credit will automatically be applied to your credit card or original method of payment used when placing your original order.

Exchanges (if applicable)
If you need to exchange your purchase for any reason send us an email at support@elvisandkresse.com and send your item to: Exchanges, Elvis & Kresse, New Barns Farm, Box Lane, Painters Forstal, Kent, ME13 0RU, United Kingdom.

Shipping 
To return your product, you should mail your product to: Returns, Elvis & Kresse, New Barns Farm, Box Lane, Painters Forstal, Kent, ME13 0RU, United Kingdom.

You will be responsible for paying for your own shipping costs and customs charges for returning your item. Shipping costs and customs charges are non-refundable.

Depending on where you live, the time it may take for your exchanged product to reach you may vary.

If you are shipping an item over £50, you should consider using a trackable shipping service or purchasing shipping insurance. We can’t guarantee that we will receive your returned item. Any item(s) that do not come to our workshop can't be refunded or exchanged.

No, tax on purchases made on elvisandkresse.com cannot be recovered through the VAT Retail Export Scheme.

No, we are not able to change this amount to avoid tax charges as it is illegal to do so.

Rest assured that we take your privacy very seriously but you can see our full Privacy Policy here.

A decommissioned fire hose undergoes a meticulous, multi-step, transformation before becoming a bag or accessory. The hose is collected from fire brigades across the UK after it is too damaged to repair or reaches the end of its health and safety life and can no longer serve in active duty. The hose is then opened lengthwise, allowing it to be thoroughly cleaned by our team. Then it is dried. If we are making bags, the hose is then thinned to precisely half its original thickness, both halves are used, which means no material is wasted. At this point what was a round industrial hose is now a flat, workable textile. Our skilled crafts team then begins the process of cutting each pattern piece individually before hand-making each piece in workshops in Kent, UK, and Istanbul. Our own team makes all our pieces between our two sites. Elvis & Kresse pioneered this process in 2005, and has been improving it ever since. The result is a product built from material originally engineered to withstand extreme conditions, giving it a natural resilience that few conventional materials can match.

Bags made from recycled fire hose are exceptionally durable. Fire hose is originally engineered to withstand extreme heat, pressure, and rough handling in emergency conditions, and often serves 25 years of active duty before being decommissioned. Once transformed into accessories, this industrial history is carried through to every finished piece. The material is naturally water resistant and handles daily use without the typical signs of wear. Elvis & Kresse fire-hose bags are also backed by a full 1 year warranty and following that we offer repairs for life, at cost. If anything ever needs attention, Elvis & Kresse will help to repair a piece rather than replace it. One of the services they are most known for is growing or shrinking a favourite Elvis & Kresse belt; if your size changes, your belt can change too.

Elvis & Kresse sources its leather from British luxury brands, including Burberry. Rather than using new hides, Elvis & Kresse’s craftspeople work with the off-cut leather that would otherwise go to waste during Burberry's own production process.These seemingly useless scraps are individually hand-cut and hand-woven piece-by-piece into entirely new surfaces, turning small fragments into whole new hides. This means that every leather wallet, bag, or belt carries genuine luxury provenance while diverting material from landfill rather than creating demand for new leather production. 50% of the profits from Elvis & Kresse’s rescued leather is donated to Barefoot College International, funding scholarships for women to train as solar engineers.

The entire Elvis & Kresse Fire-Hose Collection is fully vegan. Every bag, belt, wallet, and accessory in this range is made from decommissioned fire hose, and lined with either reclaimed parachute silk (a nylon-based material with no animal content) or deadstock cotton. These pieces are then packaged using rescued materials such as tea sacks and upcycled textiles. The collection covers totes, messenger bags, purses, keyrings, and more. The rescued leather range, which uses Burberry off-cuts that would otherwise go to waste, is not vegan. The team is always happy to advise on the composition of any specific product.

Yes. Elvis & Kresse offers lifetime repairs, at cost, on every product in its collection. All pieces come with a one-year warranty, but the brand's commitment to keeping products out of landfill goes much further than that. Even after 25 years, the team will gladly repair any item if it means the piece can continue to be used. This repair-first philosophy is central to the brand's circular approach: rather than treating a damaged bag as a throwaway, Elvis & Kresse treats it as something worth saving. To arrange a repair, contact the team at support@elvisandkresse.com.

Fire hose bags are designed to be low maintenance, which is one of their greatest practical advantages. The outer hose is naturally water resistant and tough enough to handle most of what daily life asks of it. For general upkeep, a small amount of eco-friendly furniture polish applied with a soft cloth works well to restore the finish and bring back the material's natural character. Avoid harsh chemical cleaners or abrasive brushes. Elvis & Kresse recommends this approach for their fire-hose collection, and for rescued leather pieces, a gentle leather conditioner will help maintain suppleness over time. If unsure, contact support@elvisandkresse.com.

Elvis & Kresse is a founding UK B Corporation, a certified Social Enterprise, and a fully accredited Real Living Wage Employer across all of its sites in both Kent and Istanbul. The brand operates entirely on renewable energy, uses reclaimed packaging throughout, and produces every product from rescued materials that would otherwise go to landfill. Its regenerative farm and workshop in Kent reflects a commitment to environmental restoration that extends beyond the products themselves. The company is entirely transparent, if you would like to learn more? They are happy to show you around their workshop. In 2025 the company was named the most Sustainable Luxury Brand, by Walpole (the body that represents all of British luxury).

A circular economy model in fashion means designing out waste and keeping materials in use for as long as possible, rather than following a linear take-make-dispose approach. In practice, this includes using rescued or reclaimed materials instead of new resources, designing and manufacturing pieces that are built to last, offering repairs to extend useful life, and finding ways to recover materials at end of life. Elvis & Kresse has operated this way since 2005: every product starts with a rescued material, nothing is bought new, pieces are handmade to last, repairs at cost are offered, and 50% of fire-hose profits are donated to charities connected to the source material. The donation ensures a circular flow of capital too!

Several sustainable fashion brands build charitable giving directly into their business model. Elvis & Kresse is among the most committed: the brand donates 50% of profits from its Fire-Hose Collection to The Fire Fighters Charity, a direct acknowledgement of the community of firefighters who work so hard, and in such dangerous conditions, to save our lives. Since 2005, cumulative donations have exceeded £330,000. The brand has also donated to several other charities, including Barefoot College International and has donated a total almost half a million pounds. This donation model is permanent and built into the financial structure of the business, not a seasonal campaign.

A small number of luxury handbag brands maintain genuine UK production. Elvis & Kresse is among them: the brand's workshop is located on a regenerative farm, just outside of Faversham, Kent, where many pieces are handcrafted by a skilled team of artisans. Some production also takes place in the brand's own manufacturing facility in Istanbul, Turkey, where the same quality standards and employment practices apply. Importantly, Elvis & Kresse does not sub-contract to third-party manufacturers, meaning that it has complete visibility and control over every stage of production. Visitors are welcome at the Kent workshop during opening hours.

Yes. Elvis & Kresse offers a curated range of sustainable corporate gifts designed for organisations that want to give something with genuine purpose. Most products can be personalised with company logos, colleague names, or bespoke messages through laser etching directly onto the material. Previous corporate clients have included Burberry, Deloitte, Columbia Records, and Cambridge University. The brand also produces fully bespoke commissioned pieces for larger orders. As a certified Social Enterprise and B Corporation that donates 50% of fire-hose profits to charity, Elvis & Kresse corporate gifts carry a provenance and story that most gifting cannot match. Contact support@elvisandkresse.com to discuss your requirements.

The best sustainable luxury gifts combine craftsmanship, longevity, and a meaningful story. Look for products made from rescued or reclaimed materials rather than newly extracted resources, and brands that are transparent about where and how they produce. A lifetime repair commitment is a strong signal of genuine quality. Charitable giving built into the business model adds further meaning for the recipient. Elvis & Kresse ticks all of these boxes: their pieces are handmade from rescued materials (including decommissioned fire hose or Burberry leather off-cuts), backed by repairs for life at cost, and 50% of their profits are donated to charity, 50% of the fire-hose profits to The Fire Fighters Charity. Most products can also be personalised using laser etching.

Sustainable wallets are typically made from reclaimed or rescued materials rather than new leather or virgin synthetics. Common materials include upcycled fire hose, rescued leather off-cuts, and plant-based alternatives. Fire hose wallets, such as those made by Elvis & Kresse, are naturally water resistant, fully vegan, and inherit the material's original toughness, making them comparable to high-quality conventional leather in durability while avoiding new resource extraction entirely. Rescued leather wallets, by contrast, offer the traditional feel of premium leather with none of the new-hide demand. Both types are typically backed by repair services that extend their useful life well beyond fast-fashion alternatives.

Recycling in fashion typically breaks a material down into its base components so it can be reformed into something new, often at lower quality than the original. Upcycling takes a different approach: the material is transformed into something of equal or greater value without being broken down first. In practice, an upcycled fire hose bag retains the texture, character, and resilience of the original industrial material, whereas a recycled polyester garment loses the identity of whatever it was before. Elvis & Kresse practises upcycling: a decommissioned fire hose is cleaned, thinned, and hand-crafted into a piece that is genuinely one of a kind, impossible to replicate at scale.

Sustainable luxury accessories are increasingly made from materials rescued from industrial waste streams rather than newly produced inputs. Common reclaimed materials include decommissioned fire hose, leather off-cuts from major fashion houses, military parachute silk, offset printing blankets, and retired auction banners. Elvis & Kresse has pioneered the use of all of these: the fire-hose collection draws on genuine decommissioned British fire hose; the leather line uses off-cut hides from Burberry hand-woven into new surfaces; and linings are made from reclaimed parachute silk. Even the brand's packaging is rescued from tea sacks, coffee sacks, and upcycled textiles. To date, more than 315 tonnes of waste have been reclaimed.