Learn about upcycling and its benefits on the environment and you!
You’ve heard the name, but what does it mean?
Upcycling is becoming more and more popular, but what is it exactly? Upcycling—also referred to as repurposing or reclaiming objects—is when you take an old or unwanted thing and make it new and improved. For example, you have a T-shirt that you never wear because it’s not super flattering. So, you grab your trusted fabric scissors and cut off some of the bottom. Boom! A new T-shirt you’ll wear ten times more often. It’s like recycling, but more fulfilling and better for the environment. When something is recycled, it’s broken down to its base components before being turned into something of lesser quality. Upcycling removes the need to waste those resources and energy. It’s also super rewarding! You get to express yourself creatively while helping the environment and even your wallet! Better yet, there’s a huge community of upcyclers and creators that you can get involved with. It’s amazing to see some of the things people come up with!
Why it’s important
Upcycling is a crucial way to combat against fast fashion companies, which cause an enormous amount of waste that ends up in landfills. The world wastes enough clothing to fill 1.5 Empire State buildings every single day, which fills up the entire Sydney Harbour in just one year! That means 82,782,000,000 kilograms of clothing end up in landfills each year around the world. Fast fashion companies are responsible for most of the clothing waste. Because these clothes are made to capture current fashion trends, they only stay relevant for about a year before going out of style and into the landfills. A few examples can include H&M, Urban Outfitters, Uniqlo and even online retailers, such as Shein and Fashion Nova. In general, brands like these make products so consumers go through them quickly and continue buying. Often, they become oblivious to not only the environmental, but ethical consequences of their purchases, which can include overworked, unpaid labourers, forced to work in unsafe conditions.
What do I get out of it? The rewards and benefits
Why upcycle? Now we know it's important, but there are also tons of benefits, the top being the obvious wonders it does for the environment! It allows us to keep tons of waste out of landfills and prolong their lifespans. It’s also a cheaper way to express yourself and create clothing and objects only you could have. It’s extremely rewarding and satisfying to create something yourself and know that you’ve saved it from landfills. Through upcycling, we guarantee that your perspective will change, and boundaries will cease to exist. Each time you look at waste, all you’ll see is the potential for something great!
Get inspired!
Joining the upcycling movement and community is simple and gratifying! We’re passionate about upcycling and all its benefits, so we hope to inspire others with our platform. On our Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok, we post tutorials of our own upcycles, which is a great place to get started. All our original upcycles are made with simple household items and materials, so anyone who is interested can follow along. We also feature work from other upcyclers, so you can get to know other creators in our community too. If you’re already an upcycling enthusiast, just send us a quick message through Instagram DM or email for a collaboration or feature. Future blogs will contain more insight into the world of upcycling, original content and inspiration from other creators, so be sure to stick around and get involved!