Up-cycling is basically recycling, except you end up with a really cool product at the end. By using your creativity you can convert old materials or ‘useless’ products into something you will enjoy and benefit from. Not only does this help the environment, it gives you cool new stuff without spending much, if any, money! Awesome!
You can up-cycle anything! Think about it; your clothes, furniture, art, and electronics can all be transformed from trash to something fun and new.
Who Up-Cycles?
New Dress A Day
“365 days. 365 items of clothing. 365 dollars. And the blogging begins…”
Marisa decided to quit shopping the traditional way, and challenged herself to create her own wardrobe (for an entire year!). She also decided to limit her spending to $1 a day for clothing items. Marisa has been blogging her activity, and providing photos of the transformations she is making.
Marisa’s journey shortly after being laid off from a job that was over-working her. She found herself in a creative crisis, but decided to take matters into her own hands. Her inspiration came from watching Julie & Julia; she wasn’t interested in creating french cuisine rather, she wanted to do something that would get her creative juices flowing everyday.
Marisa shares her experience on her blog, Facebook, and Twitter. Her money saving fashion and ideas are inspirational to many people. What kind of radical things have you done in order to save money, or just to boost your creativity?
How do I Up-Cycle?
If you are feeling creative but need a bit of inspiration, there are heaps of up-cycling ideas online. Keep an open mind and make adjustments to personalize your projects. You don’t have to be an artist to up-cycle, just have fun and try new things.
A great up-cycling idea that I found online was to use your old scarfs to create vintage decorative pillows. Make your pillows whatever shape or size you like, use different patterns on either side, add a zipper to create a more finished look. If you don’t have any scarfs of your own laying around, check out second hand shops, and garage sales. Got any other creative tips? Share them here!
Make it an event: The big Shwop
Join other ethically-minded shoppers in Wellington on Sunday 25th of July. The Big Shwop is a place where you can bring your unwanted, barely worn, quality, fashionable clothes, and exchange them for any of the other lovely threads on offer.
Simply put – bring along up to twenty pieces from your wardrobe that are barely worn quality clothes and exchange them for vouchers. When the shwop begins, you can ‘cash in’ your vouchers for any of the other lovely threads on offer. Guilt free shopping straight ahead!
So spend a day out with a bunch of your best friends, your mum, your daughter. Go home at the end of the day, with flash new threads completely guilt free, knowing that your fashion sense hasn’t been sacrificed for the environment, and the environment hasn’t been sacrificed for fashion either. For more information about The Big Shwop, check it out online!
By janelle
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