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Turning Trash into Treasure

1/1/2023

7 Comments

 
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by David Hagenbuch - professor of marketing at Messiah University -
​author of 
Honorable Influence - founder of Mindful Marketing 

A few weeks ago, I walked into Lowe’s with an old piece of wood to have its dark green and ivory paints color matched.  After the paint department associate carefully inspected the top of the 6” x 12” sample to find the best matching areas, she flipped the piece and glanced at the unpainted side.  Her eyes widened as she read the bold stenciled text:  HIGH EXPLOSIVES – DANGEROUS.
 
I could tell she wanted an explanation, which I was happy to give:  The story behind the formidably labeled wood has personal meaning and is also a classic example of what has increasingly become a very positively impactful business model – upcycling.
 
Sometime around 1940, my grandparents gave my mother, their only child, a very special Christmas gift:  a Lionel locomotive, a tender car, and three pullman cars.  Barely beyond the Great Depression, the O-gauge model train was likely a very significant purchase for a coal miner and homemaker.  However, the gift involved much more than the train.
 
My grandfather, who had good carpentry skills, meticulously constructed a miniature neighborhood for the train that consisted of several small outbuildings and two larger houses.  He lettered one roof with “A Merry Christmas” and the other with “A Happy New Year.”
 
Each home had a front porch with posts, a door, and several windows, for which he made coverings from different colored tissue paper.  He placed a small light fixture inside the homes so that when plugged in, a warm glow shone through their windows.
 
He painted every building dark green and trimmed them with ivory, as he did the large 4’ x 8’ plywood base on which everything rested.  That’s the reason I was in Lowe’s – to buy paint to touch up the platform and some of the 80-year-old buildings that I was working to restore.
 
My grandparents were not people of means, and building materials were likely in short supply at the time, so my grandfather used materials that were available to make the holiday train display.  Inside one of the houses was cardboard from a very old sugar box (Franklin Sugar Refining Company, Philadelphia, PA) that he used to line the windows’ edges so the tissue paper wouldn’t easily tear.
 
The wood for the buildings came from crates that he carried home from his work in the coal mines.  The reason for the "DANGEROUS" labeling is that the cartons originally contained what was commonly used for coal mine blasting – dynamite – manufactured by the no longer-existent Hercules Powder Company.
 
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It’s amazing to think how my grandfather repurposed the discarded packing from one of the world’s most destructive forces to create something beautiful that continues to bring others happiness 80 years later.
 
His labor of love, turning blasting powder crates into holiday buildings, is one of the best examples of upcycling I’ve seen.  In an age of cheap material inputs and mass production, the possibility of upcycling receives little thought from most.  Fortunately, though, some organizations are taking it seriously.
 
What exactly is upcycling and why does it matter?
 
Merriam Webster defines upcycling as recycling something “in such a way that the resulting product is of a higher value than the original item,” thereby creating “an object of greater value from a discarded object of lesser value.”
 
The main benefit of upcycling, or “creative reuse,” is intuitive: Items that may have otherwise ended up in a landfill, gain new useful life, thus both reducing waste and the need to expend the resources to produce as many new products.
 
Through its eco-friendly approach, upcycling can help mitigate sobering statistics like these:
  • “Americans generate an average of nearly five pounds of trash per person per day, totaling 292.4 million tons—half of which ends up in landfills.”
  • “Apparel was responsible for some 2.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2018—about as much as France, Germany, and the United Kingdom combined.”
  • “The average U.S. consumer throws away 81.5 lbs. of clothes a year.”
  • “In America alone, an estimated 11.3 million tons of textile waste – equivalent to 85% of all textiles – end up in landfills on a yearly basis.”
 
Given its inordinate contribution to global waste, it’s fitting that many fashion industry firms have become leaders in upcycling, which British Vogue has called “the biggest trend in fashion.”  A few of the brands spearheading the movement are Outerknown, Re/Done, Zero Waste Daniel, Urban Outfitters, Beyond Retro, and Fanfare.
 
Support for upcycling’s effectiveness in reducing waste also comes from empirical research.  Experiments in one study found that between 50% and 80% of used garments could be upcycled into new ones.
 
While the fashion industry may be leading the charge, it’s far from the only sector driving the upcycling movement.  A few other company examples include:
  • Sword & Plough creates wallets, bags, and jewelry from surplus military materials.
  • Hipcycle designs jewelry and home décor, among other products, from upcycled items. 
  • Preserve makes kitchenware and toothbrushes from recycled goods.
  • Upp! UpCycling Plastic uses plastic waste to make new recyclable plastic products.
  • Looptworks creates limited edition travel-oriented apparel and bags from materials rescued from other vendors.
 
As people anticipate a new year, the saying, ‘Out with the old, in with the new’ is sometimes spoken.  Change is often good, but constant new products can come with high economic and environmental costs.
 
Companies that upcycle help control those costs for themselves and others.  Their good stewardship could coin a new saying: ‘Remake the old, relish the better.’
 
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The term upcycling didn’t exist when my grandfather turned dynamite boxes into holiday houses for a model train set; however, companies today that follow his example can also create happiness for years to come as they practice “Mindful Marketing.”
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7 Comments
Nathan Book
2/3/2023 09:34:00 pm

I think this perspective on upcycling reflects the relevance of sustainability in marketing today. Conserving the environment is currently a significant social trend, one that greatly shapes consumer values, as many individuals consider the sustainability of a product as a major factor in their purchase decisions. Upcycling helps greatly with this, as it reduces the amount of waste that is made while simultaneously appealing to environmentally-conscious consumers. The example of the piece of wood is a great representation of how upcycling can be both a successful and conducive business model and an action one can perform and benefit from in his or her daily life. Overall, upcycling is an excellent model of mindful marketing, creating both stakeholder value by promoting sustainability and upholding societal values by reducing waste.

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Cayly Jones
2/5/2023 12:46:13 am

Upcycling is such an important trend these days. I think there is a large market for upcycled items because of the care people are taking to be sustainably conscious. In particular, Gen z cares about taking a stand in many social issues and is pushing companies to do the same. Many young adults enjoy thrifting because it keeps clothing out of landfills while also being affordable. DIY has been a common trend to save money and re-use materials that otherwise have been thrown away.

Upcycling is definitely being recognized by companies who care about sustainability. For example, there are candle companies and card companies where you can actually plant the paper product (the card or the wrapper of the candle) and you can grow a plant. I think if more companies can take on sustainability and upcycling, the world will be much better for it.

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Valeria Suaza
2/6/2023 11:19:12 pm

I think upcycling is an awesome alternative to reduce waste while still staying up to date with trends. Although many companies have recently joined in the movement to upcycle their products, I still believe this is not enough and should be talked about more often. Companies may choose not to upcycle their products because of a variety of reasons. Perhaps because of the stigma associated with used clothing meaning low quality, or because of how time-consuming it may be. However, I think especially with the newer generations, we are more considerate of our earth and the necessity of change for the sake of the environment. perhaps more companies should offer an incentive to customers along the lines of "we take your used clothing and you receive a discount from our products". I think this would motivate people to give better use to their old clothing, and at the same time, it saves the company money on the materials. Also, I really appreciate how upkept the small neighborhood is, almost a century later!

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Rachel H
2/7/2023 03:33:44 pm

Upcycling is one of the practices that can positively affect marketing since a lot of people try to recycle and find new ways to "take care" of our planet, and this generation, particularly cares a lor about the earth. Another example is thrifting, a lot of people are doing this instead of buying new clothes, to avoid fast fashion. If a business cares about sustainability, people are more likely going to prefer that business. Promoting upcycle is a mindful way of marketing because it upholds societal values and creates shareholder value, since it is good for everyone in the long run, and it also helps to promote the business.

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Emma Hagg
2/16/2023 03:07:06 pm

I think upcycling is a great and creative practice. It shows how our society today focuses on sustainability and its relation to marketing. You can also see this through the rise in thrifting among people today, especially teens and young adults. Awareness for nature and our planet is on the rise, and upcycling helps those movements. With the amount of trash and waste people produce, upcycling provides a good method for people and companies to reduce waste. I agree this is mindful marketing, as it his upholding societal values such as reducing waste, and it also creates stakeholder value as seen through companies able to make money, and use cheaper resources through upcycling.

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liliana
2/18/2023 04:52:29 pm

A great part of what mindful marketing does is it not only points out if something is mindful, but why. I think this is a great example of mindfulness within companies and how easy it can be. There is no great significance to things that are being recycled so why not try and make something new? I have often appreciated this line of thought as I've seen my own parents repurpose old pulley's into plant hangers and other miscellaneous items into something new. Upcycling is surely a source of mindful marketing as this article clearly helps advocate.

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Michelle Carter link
3/11/2023 01:16:54 am

I completely agree with the importance of upcycling in today's world. Not only does it reduce waste and the use of new resources, but it also allows for the creation of unique and one-of-a-kind items. It's amazing to see what can be created from something that was once considered trash. Upcycling also encourages creativity and innovation, and it's a fun and rewarding way to contribute to a more sustainable future.

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