Upcycling, More Than Just A Trend: A Way Of Life
The origin of upcycling
It first appeared in Germany in the 1990s. It was Reiner Pilz, an engineer and mechanic by training, who first coined the term when he was concerned about waste management in his country. According to him, either we recycle to offer goods with low added value, or we simply destroy the waste.
Better than recycling
Upcycling is even better than recycling, it's creating something new out of something old without transforming or decomposing the raw material you use. This technique is based on the principle of zero waste or reuse of what exists, and it avoids creating new products and therefore new waste! Thanks to upcycling, no additional energy is required, unlike recycling, where the processing of products to create new materials is energy intensive.
Creative and aesthetic
In addition, upcycling adds value to the object, and through its new use and consumption, brings greater satisfaction. Upcycling stimulates our creativity and is a way to sort out our wardrobe: a skirt becomes a blouse, a curtain becomes a jacket.
Upcycling can be used in all areas, both for decoration and with our old clothes. For example, in decoration, pallets that were used to store and transport heavy goods are recovered to become tables, headboards, shelves...
Example of a sustainable influenceur
Géralda Barros: Entrepreneur in Eco Responsible Fashion
Geralda is a young french Upcycling Designer and Entrepreneur in Eco Responsible Fashion. She is 22 years old. She is passionate about fashion, and reuses second-hand pieces to make amazing creative and original styles.
Geralda studied Economy and Management and now she is studying Fashion Marketing and Eco Responsibility and uses her social media accounts to show her work and to encourage people to practice upcycling and to opt for more sustainable ways of design.
She can turn a sporty ensemble into an amazing evening dress.
Follow her on Instagram and TikTok (@geraldabarros_) where she shares all her work like creative videos, photos, and sustainable lifestyle. This will definitely inspire us to look at clothes in new and different ways - more conscious, eco friendly and adjustable to different perspectives and occasions.
So, as Antoine Lavoisier said about the change of state of matter: “Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed”.
