Day 240 – The word upcycle was first used in the early 1990s. Upcycling is defined as the reuse of discarded objects or material in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original. Today, upcycling is more popular then ever. We are running out of space to put our trash. So, we need to find ways to reuse our stuff and get a second and possibly a third life out of them.

We now have companies that upcycle materials to create new products for resale. Looptworks is one of those companies. They are a Portland, Oregon based business that re-purposes and upcycles abandoned, pre-consumer and post-consumer materials into limited edition products.

“All the materials used to create Looptworks products at one time were headed to the landfill, or worse. We intercept and utilize these industry excess materials, transforming them into new, useful products — a process known as upcycling. Our sustainable, eco-friendly products are made in limited editions, and in the process save materials from landfills or incinerators.” – Looptworks

Looptworks has collaborated with numerous companies to create new products from discarded materials.

1. They have partnered with professional kiteboarder and swimsuit entrepreneur Sensi Graves. Their bags are designed from pre-consumer excess kiteboarding kite material.
2. They partnered with the NBA to give a second life to all those game jerseys that become obsolete. They created backpacks and crossbody bags.
3. They partnered with Southwest Airlines when they replaced their heavy leather airline seats with a lighter weight material. Southwest Airlines wanted to ensure that the journey didn’t end for 80,000 leather seat covers. Looptworks upcycled the seat leather into the In Flight Collection.
4. Looptworks partnered with Patagonia to upcycle retired Patagonia fly fishing waders. The result is an insulated wine carrier and Tate lunch bag.

Looptworks is always looking for new partners and the possibilities are endless. I look forward to seeing what new and improved products they will create from materials that were once on their way to the landfill.

I almost forgot to mention, Looptworks is a Certified B Corporation!

Tomorrow, glass recycling.