A London company is turning cast-off textiles into new products, part of a trend called upcycling which, its advocates say, offers big environmental benefits.
Unlike traditional recycling, in which materials like plastic and paper are gradually degraded and can be reused only a limited number of times, upcycling turns waste into products of greater value. That offers hope for achieving the biggest goal of environmentally minded design, using materials again and again to keep them out of landfills. Supporters call it “closing the loop.”
People move from a disposable mind-set into a constant reuse mind-set.
A small but growing number of companies have begun thinking this way, and they say it is essential for wealthy consumption-based societies that must begin to conserve resources, cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce landfill. Wasting less also improves profit, they say.
Read more: Upcycling Evolves From Recycling by Beth Gardiner (New York Times)
To achieve a closer insight into this environmentally friendly concept fairplanet recommends the book of the fathers of the upcycling concept: “Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things” by William McDonough and Michael Braungart
