Written by Alana Foster
Males and females alike are setting the street alive with cool, chic and ultimately enviable clothing statements. But it doesn’t stop there.
From old shoes, newspapers and CDs to inner bike tubes and ratty bath towels, don’t say goodbye, but hello, to your new best friends. There is a brand new world out there turning unwanted and unloved goods into fabulous new accessories, home wares and more. How, I hear you ask? Well it is easy, fun and ultimately beneficial for our environment. The newest and coolest ‘it’ thing to do is up-cycle. Also referred to, as ‘upcycling’ the concept is to prevent wasting environmentally harmful materials and make them into useful, enviable and stylish pieces.
Upcycling is the process of converting un-used products or materials into new and even better statement pieces for you or your home. It’s waste not, want not at its best, and the environmental benefits are huge! The goal of upcycling is to reduce the waste of potentially destructive materials to the environment by converting them into new pieces. As a result less new materials are used in developing new products. There is also less energy use, air, water and greenhouse gas pollution to the environment.
Up cycling is the new vintage shopping. Say goodbye to those old jeans, magazines and placemats and hello to your new tote bag, picture frame or coin purse. Customised candles, chandeliers, bags, ties, belts, laptop cases and more are so easy to make with your unwanted goods. Upcycling is an even greener way of recycling. You can reuse your redundant items in a quirky and different manner than they were used before; it’s all about making something useful from something disposable.
Don’t pay for those pricey must-have denim shorts, try cutting up your old jeans into the perfect shorts for summer, or turn that old leather belt into a cool cuff or headband. It’s easy, just use your imagination and the best part is that it’s free. If you’re thinking it seems a little bit too hard, let me assure you it is not! ‘100 Amazing Upcycling Ideas Anyone Can Do’ is the place to go for 100 of the best upcycling tips and tricks with step by step photos and guides. My favourites are:
- Bike inner tube wallet: learn how to transform the inner tube of a bike tire into a durable, waterproof wallet that only required a bit of simple cutting and sewing.
- Wine bottle gas lamp: With a little bit of tweaking, empty wine bottles can end up as unusual and interesting gas lamps suitable for outdoor use.
- Coffee ground conditioner: Apparently, used coffee grounds make for a natural (if not outright organic) conditioner that also brings out highlights in brunette hair.
- Plastic Bag Laptop Case: Upcycle those ubiquitous plastic bags – many of which fail to biodegrade at an agreeable rate – into a workable, eco-friendly laptop case.
Visit: http://toponlineengineeringdegree.com/?page_id=116 for more upcycling genius ideas and detailed how-to instructions.
So before you throw out those bags for recycling or take a trip to the Salvos, think about how you can turn those unwanted bits and pieces into the latest fashion accessories, home wares and more. You’ll be helping to save the environment but you’ll also score yourself a bargain or two.
Happy upcycling! You’ll be making people turn green with envy!
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