It's no secret that upcycling created quite the craze in the crafting community inspiring numerous artists, kids, parents, and even teachers to get creative before throwing away what was once trash. There are many though who still don't even think to attempt upcycling, and while there are many reasons as to why a common one is simply that they are not crafty. They skim through the Pintrest posts, and DIY websites with the appreciation for the those who upcycle, but lack the interest to attempt themselves. One does not have to be crafty though to support the upcycling movement, and that's the best part!
Making a living off of upcycling is possible, and there is proof around us, but its not being promoted to its fullest. Well known websites such as Etsy promote the small business owner, and encourage those with a crafting passion to sell online. Plenty of upcycling projects that you see on Pintrest or Facebook can easily be found already made and ready to sell on Etsy such as wine cork art, bottle lights, and upcycled jewelry. By purchasing for these individual sellers your encouraging them to keep selling, and create new ways to upcycle catering to their customers.
Etsy is a small way to 'secondhand' upcycle as I like to call it, but are there any larger buinesses that possible following the upcycle code? What if the crafty look isn't for you? One great place to start is a business called Looptworks.
Looptworks is a company that focuses solely on giving the community high quality upcycled goods. They work with larger business to obtain their garbage, and re-purpose it into something new. Originally the company started off making up cycled computer sleeves, but soon expanded their horizons an with bags, wallets, clothes, and more!
Looptworks often makes special collections as well that are created from unique upcycled material. Currently they have a Southwest and Alaska airlines collection meaning that the amazing leather bags they've designed are made with upcycled airplane seat leather. Airplane seat leather is definitely not something I think about when it comes to recycling or upcycling let alone what I would do with it. The collections are unique and in limited quantity of course because they can only get so much of the materials at once. These products can be a little bit more spending because of this, but are definitely worth the purchase. Why buy a $400 coach bag when you can buy a one of a kind quality purse at half the price!
What makes it even better is that each item lists the amount of water saved and waste saved when the product is created. How many people can say their purse purchase saved 2400 gallons of water? Not many I'll tell you that, and we should really be encouraging more people to! When we buy from companies like Looptworks we are voicing our opinion amount upcycling in the community. From there Looptworks shares our opinions with larger companies by asking for more materials to upcycle with. It creates a much larger impact then many of us think, and really pushes the boundaries of upcycling currently.
So its ok to not be crafty, and not upcycle because of this, but think about where you can help those who are! Go to your local craft fair, check out small businesses, and definitely give a google search or two. You'll end up with awesome unique items all while benefiting the community as a whole.
Looptworks about page and video on how they save water
Making a living off of upcycling is possible, and there is proof around us, but its not being promoted to its fullest. Well known websites such as Etsy promote the small business owner, and encourage those with a crafting passion to sell online. Plenty of upcycling projects that you see on Pintrest or Facebook can easily be found already made and ready to sell on Etsy such as wine cork art, bottle lights, and upcycled jewelry. By purchasing for these individual sellers your encouraging them to keep selling, and create new ways to upcycle catering to their customers.
Etsy is a small way to 'secondhand' upcycle as I like to call it, but are there any larger buinesses that possible following the upcycle code? What if the crafty look isn't for you? One great place to start is a business called Looptworks.
Looptworks often makes special collections as well that are created from unique upcycled material. Currently they have a Southwest and Alaska airlines collection meaning that the amazing leather bags they've designed are made with upcycled airplane seat leather. Airplane seat leather is definitely not something I think about when it comes to recycling or upcycling let alone what I would do with it. The collections are unique and in limited quantity of course because they can only get so much of the materials at once. These products can be a little bit more spending because of this, but are definitely worth the purchase. Why buy a $400 coach bag when you can buy a one of a kind quality purse at half the price!
So its ok to not be crafty, and not upcycle because of this, but think about where you can help those who are! Go to your local craft fair, check out small businesses, and definitely give a google search or two. You'll end up with awesome unique items all while benefiting the community as a whole.
Looptworks about page and video on how they save water
Awesome idea - thanks for posting!
ReplyDelete