Product Longevity

What other pros do we see in upcycling other than economical and environmental benefits? According to a study done by Nottingham Trent University, they find that there is an emotional bond between a product and its owner. Sounds very odd to say, but the reality is this bond created between the product and owner will increase it's life. Why is that? As mentioned in the study, it is more likely for a person to take good care of a product they have made themselves instead of a product they have bought. For example, lets look at a regular case of planting your own vegetables and fruit; it's more likely for a person to use up all of the food and not waste the food because they grew it on their as opposed to just buying them from the store, and letting some of the food go to waste. Now looking at this regarding upcycling, if someone made their own carpet they are more likely to vacuum it and take care of it as opposed to buying a regular rug from a store; they might procrastinate when they want to vacuum the store bought rug.

How were they able to conduct this study? They sent a questionnaire to population, and had upcycling practitioners to evaluate these results and find a correlation between upcycling products and longevity. The significance of an upcycling product having a longer life than regular products is a conclusion that should allow all of us to advocate making our own products for the sake of not needing to keep buying more. Not buying more products will result into saving more money, which is more economically beneficial to ourselves.

If anything having more upcycled products will allow us to have better habits in taking care of ourselves and whatever we own. For example, if someone makes their own facial toner they are more likely to use it everyday and a result that will also benefit them. Upcycling can be beneficial in so many aspects, and is a habit we should try and strive to include in our everyday lives.

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.712.1547&rep=rep1&type=pdf#page=357