Upcycling Day
Posted on June 14 2024
Upcycling Day is June 24. It is an international day celebrating the process of upcycling or repurposing, giving old items a new life so that nothing is wasted.
Gunter Pauli first wrote about upsizing in 1998 then and then it was renamed Upcycling in a later edition in 1999. Upcycling was then used by engineers William McDonough and Michael Braungart in their 2002 book Cradle to Cradle Remaking The Way We Make Things, explaining “the goal of upcycling is to prevent wasting potentially useful materials by making use of existing ones”.
Upcycling also reduces the consumption of new materials thereby reducing energy usage, air pollution, water pollution and even greenhouse gas emissions; prevents used materials from becoming part of the millions of tons of textile waste.
Upcycling is very different from recycling which was already being done since 1690 with linen and cotton waste. Recycling reformulates something into an entirely new item, such as melting down old glass bottles and making new and different types of drinking glasses.
Upcycling is the creative reuse of an old unwanted or waste item. It keeps something primarily in its original form and changes it into something different, such as removing the top of a bottle, smoothing the edges and using it for a drinking glass.
Celebrate Upcycling Day by participating in any of the many upcycling activities using old and discarded items. Almost anything can be upcycled.
Here are some suggestions for upcycling old garments:
- Embroidery: Add a personal touch to any garment such as a T-shirt, jacket, or jeans with embroidery, a velvet ribbon, beading, etc.
- Denim: Denim is durable and polluting, making it a good fabric to upcycle. You can turn old jeans into shorts, a denim skirt, pillows, upholstery fabric for a chair,
- T-shirts: Turn an old t-shirt into a crop top, or a fancy top by adding jewels to the neckline or a tote bag.
- Dresses: Turn a short or small dress into a skirt, embellish and old dress with embroidery, beading, lace or other decoration.
Resources
-UPCYCLING DAY - June 24, 2024 - National Today
-National Upcycling Day: Celebrating the Art of Repurposing in Sustainable Fashion | RE.STATEMENT
-National Upcycling Day: Why is upcycling better for environment
