For many companies nowadays, the ultimatum is simple - go green or go home. “Going green” has evolved into one of the most important selling points for many environmentally conscious consumers in recent years, prompting even the largest conglomerates to adopt everything from their recycling programs to hallway lighting into greener, more energy-efficient alternatives. However, while these internal changes certainly do their part to bolster the green change that we need, most businesses draw the brakes to a screeching halt at actually changing their approach to product development.

That’s where this company sets itself apart from the crowd. Rather than relying on raw materials to create new things, which is an inherently wasteful practice and exacerbates the various environmental issues of unsustainable businesses, the company I’ll be introducing today is a creator of ‘upcycled’ products, a term that aims to combat the notion that recycled products are inferior in quality to ‘new’ ones. Upcycling, a portmanteau that blends the words ‘upgrade’ and ‘recycling’, is used to refer to products where the recycling is done to such a high standard that the end product compares favorably with those that are manufactured from ‘fresh’ raw materials. 

Sue Burns, the founder and owner of upcycled clothing and accessory maker Baabaazuzu, stumbled upon the art of upcycling after her husband mistakenly threw her favorite wool sweaters into the dryer (cue the groaning - good going there, Mr. Burns). Rather than letting her shrunken sweaters go to waste (and giving her husband the cold shoulder he so clearly deserved), Sue backburnered the tears and instead turned the shrunken sweaters into jackets with matching hats for her two young daughters. And when the phone started ringing off the hook in high demand for Sue’s unique wool creations, she set to work with a Sears Kenmore sewing machine on the dining room table and pieced together what would come to be the future of Baabaazuzu - pioneers of the upcycled sweater movement, as their official homepage proudly introduces. 

Baabaazuzu, another portmanteau in homage to both sheep - the providers of the medium - and Sue’s nickname, “Zuzu”, eventually sold its way into becoming one of the most heralded upcyclers of wool in the country. Based in Lake Leelanau, Michigan, each article of clothing that Baabaazuzu offers is handcrafted in its U.S. headquarters using 100% vintage material. ‘No two pieces of Baabaazuzu are ever alike’, their website introduces, so if you’re ever interested in owning a one-of-a-kind wool creation and also stay environmentally conscious while doing it, then give these funky wool upcyclers a visit and see if their products cater to your woolly tastes.