It’s exactly the kind of thing which might help with the loom band dilemma. But Patagonia’s R2 and R3 wetsuits are cut from a different cloth – namely 605 Yulex biorubber, made from the desert plant guayule, aka ‘the wonder weed’. Conventional wetsuits are made from petroleum-based neoprene, which is not a good look. Surfers have always liked to take the ecological high ground (or wave), so it’s particularly irksome when a piece of their kit doesn’t match up. Encourage children to store their loose bands in a box as if it they were as precious as a Tiffany necklace. But this is the message we should be trying to convey. Loom bands are everywhere – it’s hard to convince children that they are precious. In anaerobic landfill they don’t really break down at all. In waterways they break down into small fragments, so are potentially even more easily ingested by wildlife. In practice they’re photosensitive (they break down in light) instead. If the loom band inventor had also invented a new source of bio rubber (see Green Crush, below), then I’d be happy.Īs it is, I’m deeply sceptical that any existing bands are biodegradable. But natural rubber plantations are fraught with ethical problems, too – from enslaved rubber tappers to the annexation of rainforest. Natural rubber can be seen as ecologically superior to synthetic, which consumes energy and produces carbon dioxide. Some have asked if latex bands would be more sustainable. The loom band presents a similar danger to pets and wild animals. The rubber was said to threaten wildlife, particularly hedgehogs.

You may remember the furore a few years ago over red rubber bands (now brown) discarded by postmen. Washed down drains and into water courses, millions of little bands of synthetic, silicone-based rubber add to the more than 7m tonnes of rubbish that reach the world’s oceans each year.

I’ve lost count of the number of loom band spillages I’ve seen on pavements. Unfortunately it’s also a litter time bomb. Who can begrudge him his good fortune or that of children who want to put down their electronic devices and make something? This is a handicraft, and ordinarily I would approve wholeheartedly.