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‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure’. This age-old idiom has always sparked a deep sense of curiosity within me. It undermines the definition of value, and simultaneously highlights how the definition of value as we know it, is in fact an entirely subjective one. The idea of trash turning into treasure, in my opinion, opens up a plethora of intricate possibilities that support the notion of an individual perception of value. What I perceive as valuable may indeed be seen as the exact opposite by others - and vice-versa.
In recent years, it seems as though this idiom has been able to manifest itself on a more tangible level. The success of the now very well-established vintage sector within the fashion industry is, in fact, the perfect proof of this. Garments that were once regarded as unwanted and ‘valueless’ by consumers have suddenly been given a whole new sense of worth. This shift in perception allowed for our culture to transition from the idea of ‘hand-me-downs’ to ‘second-hand’ and then onto ‘vintage’, making the terms by which we refer to ‘old” and ‘unwanted’ pieces more attractive. And so, as our perceptions of value started to expand, so did its vocabulary.
As designers began to explore different ways of responding to this new kind of desire, perceptions towards the ‘old’ and ’unwanted’ quickly changed – to such an extent that garments such as these actually gained even more value than they had to begin with. As views shifted, fashion designers explored this perception of value more deeply, by uplifting old vintage pieces into more wearable and modern ones, thus further opening up the industry to a wide variety of upcycling concepts.
In today’s world, with the combination of technological advancements and the dire urgency of preserving our ever so finite resources, fashion designers and brands have been able to reach new heights with inspiring collaborations, exciting innovations and sustainable creativity, geared towards the concept of upcycling.
A great example of this comes from the well-known brand, Adidas. With their commitment to sustainable innovation, in 2015 Adidas embarked on an extremely interesting collaboration with the platform Parley for the Oceans. Aiming to raise awareness and ultimately address the major threats to our oceans caused by plastic pollution, the partnership has sought to act as an interception of plastic waste from the oceans, by means of fashion design!
The ‘Parley Ocean Plastic’ initiative provides the non-virgin resource of recovered plastics and ghost-nets, waste which is found in marine environments. Adidas is then able to recycle this secondary waste stream into what are now referred to as ‘recycled polyester’ fibres. In engaging with the innovation of recycled plastics, Adidas can retain their existing performance shoe models, thus committing to the needs of their consumers, while truly exploring the concept of upcycling to its highest potential. By injecting new life into an ‘unwanted’ and ‘valueless’ resource, not only have they been able to completely flip the perception of value, but they have also made a positive impact environmentally. It is calculated that each pair of shoes, including the laces and all other elements, amounts to an average of 11 ‘saved’ plastic bottles.
In engaging with these collaborative approaches towards design executions, the industry has made way for more creative business models to be born and developed, solely around this concept.
Ecoalf is a Spanish brand that has built its entire business model around tackling waste issues by means of upcycling, integrated with breakthrough technologies. In their goal to target a wide range of waste, they have created initiatives that tackle various waste problems through a variety of collaborations. In 2016, Ecoalf launched ‘Upcycling the Oceans’ together with Ecoembes, a Spanish organisation committed to redesigning waste. This initiative engages with a total of 441 sea trawlers in 28 ports, which work towards cleaning up our oceans. In one year, they are able to recover more than 100 tonnes of marine debris from the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. In partnership with a recycling plant in Spain, Ecoalf are in a position to transform this once harmful and ‘valueless’ resource, into high quality, durable outerwear. With innovations ranging from plastic bottles that are turned into recycled polyester, fishing nets that are turned into recycled nylon, and used tyres that are turned into shoes, the creative potential is, it seems, endless!
Using methods of innovative upcycling such as these, brands are eliminating the need to extract virgin resources in the first place. For example, by using recycled polyester made from waste recovered at sea, they have eliminated the extraction of crude oil, which is the source of polyester. The recycling of such resources also reduces energy output and the toxic emissions that are usually created during the production of polyester.
The fashion industry is at a stage of deep exploration into new and exciting definitions of value. And while it makes contributions towards tackling current social and environmental issues on a worldwide scale, the industry is further proving itself to be one of the most powerful and exciting tools out there.