As you already know, the fashion industry is one of the major polluting industries in the world. Manufacturing and producing new garments create a lot of wastes and fabric scraps. An average American throws away approximately 80 pounds of used clothes per person each year, but not all of them cannot be resalable. Therefore, remake, repair, and upcycle are some of the ways lessen the problem and help the environment.
Many of you are able to be confused with the term, upcycling. Upcycling is similar to recycling in a way that both make new, usable items out of old worn ones. The difference is that upcycling is to transform wastes into something new whereas recycling is to break down materials first and then reuse them. Today, I will introduce some great brands doing remake, repair, and upcycle well.
Beyond Retro is a European vintage store. They have branded, quality vintage items, but not all of them make sales. Most of them does not make it to the shop floor, and they came up with the idea for upcycling them. They have a separate category named ‘REWORKED‘, their own label made from secondhand fabrics and used clothing. They have incredible pieces especially of workwear, and each piece is unique, well-designed, fashionable, affordable, and sustainable of course. If you want a uniqueness with little budget, you should definitely check out the website!
It is a British fashion brand pioneering sustainability in the industry, led by founder & designer Esther Knight. In contrast to the fast fashion, they promote sustainable fashion with eco-conscious practices. Other than their own brand pieces, they also offer Upcycled & Vintage items. Using embroidery and embellishment from offcuts and production waste, the design team creates one-of-a-kind pieces. They are a little bit expensive but absolutely worth the price since all the pieces are stylish, artistic, and detailed. They only have a few upcycled pieces at a time, and those are sold out very quickly.
The brand was founded by a designer Daniel Silverstein in NYC. As the brand’s purpose of ‘nothing to landfill’, every single piece is made from 100% scrap material. He creates both your basics and one of a kind pieces, and it has a very distinctive patchwork design. Also, they are handmade!!
They take the vintage denim apart at the seams and repurpose them into new jeans. Updating their fit to match a modern fit whilst keeping its character. All their jeans are made in Downtown Los Angeles using water conserving methods and they make sure to not use harsh chemicals. Re/Done also make sure to keep the original stitching where possible. This preserves the years of history and stories stored in the pockets, faded coloring and torn knees. Each piece is limited in number as they are handpicked and hand cut. They also have timeless, basic cotton t-shirts that can match with denims.
Urban Renewal by urban outfitters
Using their team of resources they find surplus materials or deadstock – products that companies make but aren’t able to sell. The fate of deadstock and surplus materials normally ends up in landfills, but the team at Urban Renewals revamp them. Because of that, each piece is created in very limited numbers, so you have to get it right away if you like it. I really like the idea of using deadstock to reduce the landfills, but I personally think they are a little bit pricy regarding its quality and works redone on the pieces.
Beyond Retro Reworked
JAMIE BRANDED STRAIGHT HEM BOMBER JACKET
£40.00
Fabric for Freedom
High Waisted Upcycled Dark Blue Jeans
£139.00
Zero Waste Daniel
Pop of Color Hoodie
$99.00
Urban Renewal
Half-Dye Crew Neck Sweatshirt
$59.00
RE/DONE
High Rise Loose Jeans
$285.00
More Than Style 