What is upcycling?

According to upcyclethat.com, upcycling means “taking something that’s considered waste and repurposing it. The upcycled item often becomes more functional or beautiful than what it previously was.” This process is distinct from recycling in that while recycling breaks down the materials to create a new one, upcycling simply changes the function of the product and makes it into a good of different value. 

The fashion industry has been numerously criticized for its “fast fashion trend” in how it promotes an unhealthy lifestyle where people buy more clothes to keep up with the so-called “trend” while using them for a shorter time. According to an article from Business Insider, the fashion industry produces 10% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions and is the second contributing industry in water consumption. The production of clothes and its fabrics are known to use harmful chemicals such as petroleum scours, softeners, flame retardants, softeners, formaldehyde, and ammonia. The manufacturing process is also known to release volumes of microplastic into our oceans. 

To tackle this issue, upcycling has risen as a new solution for people to creatively reuse their clothes to produce new goods with a new value. Many of these include creating a fabric pencil case, makeup pouch, coasters, tote bags, and much more. Especially in the times of quarantine, what better way to spend your time than upcycling your old clothes to make new goods? Upcycling is a new movement that can make a new fashion trend where sustainability can be the forefront of our fashion industry- be the part of the new movement!

Citations: 

McFall-Johnsen, Morgan. “The Fashion Industry Emits More Carbon than International Flights and Maritime Shipping Combined. Here Are the Biggest Ways It Impacts the Planet.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 21 Oct. 2019, www.businessinsider.com/fast-fashion-environmental-impact-pollution-emissions-waste-water-2019-10.