what's the deal with upcycling?
"Upcycling" refers to "the act of taking something no longer in use and giving it a second life and new function." It's not just about turning trash into something else- it's about designing a system oriented toward purposeful consumption. Like most environmental initiatives, upcycling can also be an enjoyable creative endeavour.
fashion,
How does this help the environment?
Fast Fashion encourages the rapid production of new styles and consumption of cheap clothing leading to the disposal of hard to decompose pieces. On the contrary, upcycling highlights a person’s unique style without sacrificing environmental concerns.
The General Process
STEP 1: Source material from landfills or collect old clothes.
STEP 2 Sketch a design based on the gathered material.
STEP 3: Go to the Makers Hub to use free material provided by the school!
utilities,
Instead of spending money on generic brand name products, seek inspiration from the environment and utilize apparent discarded material.
How does this help the environment?
Upcycling utilities encourages individuals to avoid expensive, unsustainable convenient store products, thereby discouraging the production of disposable and mindless consumer goods.
and food.
How does this help the environment?
“Roughly 133 billion pounds of is wasted every year in the U.S, and 6 billion of that is produce lost before harvesting or selling. This subset of food waste is attributed primarily to aesthetics, meaning the produce was too small, too large, off-colored, scarred, misshapen, etc.” Read more here
Fun Fact! Grocery stores have beauty standards too! They often discard or sell at reduced prices to outlets perfectly good foods that don’t meet aesthetic standards. Find fresh fruits and vegetables with comparable quality to regular grocery stores at the 99 Cent Store!