Category: Upcycling

Talking Trash – Reet Aus Upcycling Fashion Designs

Talking Trash – Reet Aus Upcycling Fashion Designs

Posted on by Kbaumlier

I recently checked out what was going on with Pixelache, in Helsinki Finland, and read about an upcoming workshop by Reet Aus, based in Tallinn,Estonia.  Her work is inspired by how discarded garments can become wearable designs.

Aus works with production leftovers, and other upcycled materials and promotes the the idea that this model can be applied to mass production.

Her PhD thesis that she completed in 2012 focused on how to bring textile waste back to the production cycle in fashion design; how to understand and test various upcycling approaches and techniques; and how to put this method into practice for mass produced garments as well as individual pieces.

Her current work explores how to promote the wider use of upcycling in fashion design, both in Estonia and globally.  She recently did a workshop where she presented a design model to create products with minimal environmental impact.

Her clothing and designs are called Trash to Trend.  There has been a lot of action in the area of upcycling and making individual pieces and diy projects, but Aus is interested in how this model can be applied to larger systems and processes.

The model that she promotes is comprised of three elements:

1. Waste mapping and a database that gives designers an overview of where local textile waste is being produced, its type, and quantity.

2. Design techniques that offer designers techniques for upcycling textile waste in fashion design. Within the model there are a variety of techniques that provide for one-off pieces, small-scale manufacturing, and mass production.

3. A web-based platform that is an interactive framework integrating the various elements that makes direct communication possible between waste generators, designers, and clients. This creates a transparent product chain is created, waste data is accessible, techniques are shared, and upcycled products can be sold and marketed.

Her work, research, and writings can be seen on her website.  Is this the future of fashion?

 

Image Source:
http://reetaus.com/

Links:

http://reuse.ee/trashtotrend/?page_id=7

http://reetaus.com/

TerraCycle – Upcycle Your Candy Wrappers and Flip Flops

TerraCycle – Upcycle Your Candy Wrappers and Flip Flops

Posted on by Kbaumlier

What can you do with candy wrappers, worn out flip flops, or the box from your toothpaste? You can upcycle it! TerraCycle’s goal is to eliminate the idea of waste by creating national recycling systems for previously non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle waste. Anyone can sign up for these programs and start sending them some of your waste on their list.

Some of the waste that is collected includes things that a lot of use every day including:
energy bar wrappers
chip bag wrappers
toothpaste boxes
corks
flip flops
cleaner packaging
cell phones
candy wrappers
drink boxes

TerraCycle will then use your garbage to make a wide variety of products and materials which includes bags umbrellas, clipboards, plastic planters, and purses. The program has gotten lots of support, and over 20 million people collect waste in over 20 countries. With the programs, TerraCycle has collected billions of units of useful trash and used it to create over 1,500 different products which are available at major retailers ranging from Walmart to Whole Foods.

To do this, TerraCycle has created national programs called Brigades in order to target getting specific non-recyclable waste products. Most of the programs offer free shipping as well as a donation for each piece of garbage that you collect.

You can sign up to collect one or more types of waste, and then get it shipped to TerraCycle Then, if you see cool bags made of wrappers, or a door matt made of recycled flip flops, it might just be your garbage … in a brand new upcycled form.

Image Source
http://www.terracycle.com/

Links:

http://www.terracycle.com/

Upcycle It! – a Great Idea/Resource book for Upcycling Projects

Upcycle It! – a Great Idea/Resource book for Upcycling Projects

Posted on by Kbaumlier

When I attended the Camp Pixelache event in Helsinki, Finland in May I met members from the group Kulturlabor Trial&Error which is a Berlin based collective of designers, craftivists, thinkers, doers, artists and project managers.  Members of the group use media, handicrafts and arts as tools to work with local communities and other groups to exchange knowledge and skills and to experiment. The projects explore creative activism, sustainability and the development of social networks, using principles of D.I.Y,  Open Source Culture and non-formal education.

At Camp Pixelache, two members of Kulturlabor Trial&Error were there setup at a table.  They had some of their books on display – which included Upcycle It!  A book about upcycling, and has lots of project ideas of how to turn trash into useful and beautiful things.  Upcyling is the practice process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value.

The Upcycle It!” project started in Berlin as a way to look more closely at what people  actually throw away. What is the impact we have as citizens on the environmental situation?  What are our habits and choices that we make about what to throw away?  What are other ways to use our trash?

Members from Kulturlabor Trial&Error started to re-mix handicraft, existing knowledge and new techniques with upcycled materials. They created workshops about trash and sustainability in various locations in Berlin, Germany and Asturias, Spain.  The ideas from the workshops were put into a book and videos. The workshops often focus on one material each time, and a brief history and overview of the material is discussed first.  Then – the creative construction, design, and crafting begin.  Want to make a light out of an old umbrella, a zippered container from two plastic lens caps, a bottle cap welcome mat?  Upcycle It! is a great book with information, inspiration, and great project ideas.

The great thing about the book is that you are able to download and print the book online so  you can get started doing upcycling projects.  I am interested in starting a meetup/ group to hang out and do innovative, creative and imaginative upcycling projects.  I am planning to propose using the upcyling book and workshop format.  So if you live near me –   I’ll see you near the trash container!

Image Source:
Upcycle It! – website
Upcyle It!  Book Online – (Read, download, and Print for free)

 

Links:

Upcycle It! – website

Upcyle It!  Book Online – (Read, download, and Print for free)

Kulturlabor Trial&Error

Kulturlabor Trial & Error – Crafts, D.I.Y. Culture and Sustainability

Kulturlabor Trial & Error – Crafts, D.I.Y. Culture and Sustainability

Posted on by Kbaumlier

At Camp Pixelache in Helsinki, Finland that I attended last month I met members of Kulturlabor Trial & Error, which is a Berlin-based, non-profit organization that works with crafts, D.I.Y. culture, sustainability, arts and media.  The group calls itself  a “collective of designers and craftivists, thinkers and doers, artists and project managers” – who implement social and cultural projects. By using media, handicraft and art as tools, the group works mainly in the local community in Berlin, to experience, experiment with and exchange knowledge and skills.

At Camp Pixelache, several members of the group were there with lots of materials on hand that anyone could work with.  They also had some of their amazing publications on view.  One book is a book called Upcycle it! – A toolkit for creative recycling which gives practical information, information on different materials and interesting articles about upcycling.

Another amazing was the Recycled Creativity Festival 2011 Photobook, which was a handmade book from the Recycled Creativity Festival that was held in Berlin last year.  This yearly event celebrates upcycling and recycling – and had music, workshops, yoga, food, film, and lots of cool demos.

At the core of the festival is the idea that, “trash is not waste but the basis to develop our creativity.”    One interesting project I learned about that was at the festival was a portable T-shirt project, where any shirt is coated with a light-sensitive pigment.  A portable projection setup is used to project the image onto the t-shirt – and voila! A shirt is made.  I liked how this was setup on a cart – and could go anywhere.

Trial and Error recently got a space for workshops.  Some of the workshops they have coming up include “Make your own 100% upcycled* banner bags” – where you make bags out of old commercial banners.  Another project is “Trash of the Month,” where the presenters will check out one specific trash-material and give an upcycling workshop of how to use this material.  Past materials were bike pieces (pieces from bicycles), paper, old umbrellas, food (which included dumpster diving, candles, and some other materials.

The group has a mobile workshop wagon which is used to give workshops in public space.  The wagon was constructed out of 90% trash, sourced from the local environment

Got some trash that you don’t know what do with?  I recommend checking out the Trial and Error website, and check out their books that you can view online.

Image Source:
http://www.trial-error.org/

Links:

http://www.trial-error.org/

http://www.trial-error.org/publications

http://www.recycledcreativity.info/en/home.html

Newspaper Wood: Paper Pages Turn into Wood

Newspaper Wood: Paper Pages Turn into Wood

Posted on by Kbaumlier

NewspaperWood by Vij5 and Mieke Meijer is a unique example of upcyling materials and flipping the resource to product process.  Instead of using wood as a source to make paper, NewspaperWood uses the paper to make wood.  The design came out of Meijer’s project at the Design Academy Eindhoven.

For a student design project, Meijer took stacks of newspapers, glued them together, and rolled them into a tight ‘log’ that he left to dry, deform and harden.  After they ‘cured, ’ these logs could be used as building blocks that could be cut, carved, routed, and used in place of normal wood.

The NewspaperWood has grains and rings similar to a tree. Each slice has a different cross-section of print with its own visual properties.  Years later he collaborated with the Dutch design team Vij5, and he began to roll out real products based on these reconstituted pieces of ‘timber.’  Out of this came a series of practical and experimental that use recycled newspapers in new ways that include lamps, jewelry, and other household objects.

For an exhibit in Milan at Salone, Vij5 invited other designers to create products using the NewspaperWood material and the products can be seen on the vij5.nl website.

Image Source:
www.vij5.nl

Links:

www.vij5.nl

miekemeijer.nl/