THE NEW RE-USING TREND... UPCYCLING!
Reusing materials discarded in the manufacturing process is a growing force behind a fresh new industry...
Upcycling adds value by transforming or reinventing an otherwise-disposable item into something of higher quality. It's the ultimate in reuse--and a whole new industry sector is shaping up around it.
Even luxury-goods firms like Hermès are in on the act, repurposing leftover scraps from their signature scarves and Birkin bags for a home furnishings and accessories line dubbed "petit h."
Upcycling can be a boon to existing businesses as well. For Hammer & Hand, a Portland, Ore., design-build construction firm, upcycling became a jobs-saving revenue stream during the recession. It began a decade ago, when co-founder and president Sam Hagerman quit using dumpsters.
"I was writing the garbage man a $10,000 check every month, and I realized that could support a living wage and a half," he says. So he bought a truck and started an in-house recycling system in the yard of the office building (which boasts flooring made from recycled bleacher seats).
From then on, Hagerman took reusable parts from construction sites--framing components, light fixtures, appliances and lumber. "I realized we could get a beautiful pile of lumber for free," he says, "and turn around and add value to it."
Small retailers are also finding success with upcycling. The Re-Inspiration store in Atlanta's West Design District is one of them.
Housed in a loft-like space, the store is stocked completely with upcycled or recycled items that owner Brooke Schultz consigns from independent artists--"eco-whimsy," she says, pointing out bobby pins from old Scrabble pieces, lamps made with Kahlua bottle handles and robot-like garden decorations composed of welded wrenches and pipes.
Before the Industrial Revolution, when new technologies made it more cost-effective to create new (often nonbiodegradable) things rather than reuse them, upcycling was a fact of life. Fabrics were separated into fibers like wool and cotton, broken down again and spun into new products. Henry Ford even practiced an early form of upcycling, using the crates car parts were shipped in as vehicle floorboards.
When it comes to collecting recyclable and upcyclable materials, the business opportunities are "amazing," says Gal Raz, associate professor at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business,
