“Upcycling:” A Hidden Growth Area in Your Store?

Sure you’ve heard about recycling, but what about upcycling, the new trend of turning existing materials that would otherwise go to the landfill into useful products? We’re talking materials like brand-new fabric ordered by mistake, trinkets of all kinds and plain old trash. Alone, these materials may be deemed useless and landfill-ready. But used creatively, viola! An entirely new market of products is born.

Waste not. Wear yes!
An inconceivable amount of fabric never even makes it into apparel production. Fabrics are frequently produced by mistake, in excess, or didn’t make the cut for final production. Textile manufacturers have no buyer for this fabric and often resort to incinerating it or sending it straight to the landfill. Looptworks, a new apparel company in Portland, Oregon, upcycles fabric like this into a full line of apparel, saving the fabric from being discarded. Not only is producing fabric a waste of energy, the production also requires a lot of water. According to Looptworks, an average organic cotton T-shirt takes 400 gallons of water to make, which is equal to taking a shower for 2.5 hrs! Can you imagine? Check out their video:

Charmed and Bejeweled
Twitch and Whiskers out of Danbury, CT makes jewelry out upcycled materials, giving them a one-of-a-kind cache. Pieces merge retro, like game pieces from days gone by, with modern materials, creating a can’t-quite-put-your-finger-on-it fascination.

Thimble Jewelry by Twitch and Whiskers

Waste and Repeat
Your trash can become another man’s treasure and yours. TerraCycle, a Trenton, New Jersey company, collects and transforms waste from 20 million people in over 20 countries into a line of products, such as a pull-tab handbag, cookie wrapper kites and dozens of other clever products. Creating products out of trash eliminates raw materials processing and generates a much smaller carbon footprint.

Upcycled products are anything but a waste. When they can no longer be used, they can be returned to the upcycle assembly line and transformed into yet another purpose. As for your store, upcycled products are a promising lot for customers looking to reduce their impact on the environment. But you may have materials ripe for upcycling right in your store. Either way, it’s a trend that could uptick your sales.