Disclaimer: We welcome a new feather in our columns today. Welcome to Séga, big vintage lover. Sensitive to environmental issues and fashion trends, he introduces us to "upcycling" for more responsible consumption. The floor is his!
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We have all already found ourselves in front of our dressing room, which is overflowing with clothes beyond reason. You know the scene by heart. It often ends with the famous phrase “it’s a mess, I don’t know what to wear” . This opportunity made you realize that you may have bought too many pieces…
To avoid this kind of overflow, it is better to focus on the basics in your wardrobe. However, if the bad - or too good, rather - has already been done, an alternative is available to you: upcycling.
This could be translated by the expression “recycling from above”. The idea? Recover old clothes from your closet, or from a thrift store, and give them a second life ...
Can you start upcycling alone?
Your closet is a gold mine, even more so if it's full to the brim. Upcycling can then be used to refresh it . The only imperative: have enough imagination to reinvent the pieces of your wardrobe.
Several alterations are possible on a garment . Briefly, you could change:
- The shape of a collar : for example, eliminate a mandarin collar if you no longer like this style of shirt.
- The length and seams of the sleeves : why not consider a jacket with 7/8 sleeves, to reduce the length of your arms?
- Adjust the bust , by bending a jacket that you no longer want straight, for example.
- The cut of pants , which can be readjusted without too much difficulty.
Tired of an old bomber? Why not take inspiration from the Alpha Industries models and decorate it with some badges?
When you have a clear idea of what you want, go to one of the retouchers in your area so that the “upcycled” piece can see the light of day. Concretely, it will only cost you the price of the retouching.
If you have no preconceptions on the issue, thrift stores , garage sales and consignment stores are a significant playground. You can go there to buy second-hand clothes and then (have) them customized.
The right compromise: buy clothes that have already been upcycled
You don't feel like a creator? Do you like beautiful clothes and want to limit your ecological impact by participating in a circular economy? You are therefore a reasonable consumer.
In France, the Internet has enabled the emergence of new players with a strong ecological conscience.
The French supermarket brand has launched into upcycling. These pants cost 85 euros.
You have noticed ? Prices are often higher than for classic vintage clothing, due to the additional labor costs.
La Draft Paris is another label taking the upcycling route. Every week, the creators of this urban brand go to Parisian thrift stores and select pieces according to their quality. They are then worked in collaboration with a Parisian workshop to give them a second life.
As a result, the La Draft Paris collection evolves according to their findings. Allow at least 199 euros for a raincoat.
Present only on the Internet, the brand offers a retouching service. You can modify your clothes so that they match their world.
To upcycle, a brand can also recover old fabrics, or even scraps . This is the bet of Saudade de Paris . All the fabrics used come from specialized suppliers, holding rolls collected from fashion houses.
The brand offers a tailored wardrobe with a minimal style. The collection is super exclusive. For example, this 450 euro jacket only exists in four copies.
When the fashion giants sniff out the vein...
Fast fashion and upcycling: the emergence of a paradox
Today, we find upcycling everywhere. On the fast-fashion side, the Uniqlo brand has regularly organized clothing collections since 2012. The most used ones are disassembled to create insulating material.
Jumbled together, we can mention Urban Outfitters and H&M, among others... Upcycling remains a way for these brands to continue to produce (and therefore sell) clothing at lower costs. So pay attention to the quality of these clothes.
The ASOS e-shop has created the “ Reclaimed Vintage ” range of upcycled clothing.
Some more high-end brands are also getting into top-down recycling . Since 2011, APC (for Production and Creation Workshop) has never lived up to its name so well. Its “APC Butler” program is aimed at owners of one of their jeans. The principle is as follows: APC collects your old model, processes it again (or even refurbishes it) and resells it at half price.
With this look, Boris de Borasification adopts a workwear style... in APC Butler jeans.
In 2015, the luxury group Kering
To our Parisian friends, the “ Episode ” boutique
The difficulty of consuming better
An effort on the part of the brands
Upcycling requires a change in brand behavior.
For example, Patagonia was the first outdoor clothing brand to make polyester canvas from plastic bottles. In 2017, it decided to streamline its t-shirt ranges, so that from spring 2018, it will offer only two options: 100% organic cotton, and a recycled cotton/polyester blend. The brand explicitly recognizes that organic cotton has a negative impact on the environment and takes action to limit its footprint.
To give you an idea: a 250 gram t-shirt requires around 2,500 liters of water; an 800 gram pair of jeans requires 8,000 liters just for irrigation. This is an average calculated by the Water Footprint Network of corporate and academic partners.
Review our habits
Upcycling also involves a change in consumer behavior. Let's be clear: there is no fast fashion without fashion victims . To help you get the hang of it, Love Your Clothes , an initiative of the Wrap association, offers information to consumers at each stage of the process, from smarter purchasing, repair, personalization of clothing, to upcycling. .
The Wrap site also offers a buying guide based on the parts you are looking for.
Ultimately, the best thing you can do is keep your clothes longer by investing in quality pieces — and buy fewer new clothes...
“Yes, but upcycling is not that new!”
Upcycling is not a new idea. You understand, the principle is simple: waste (used clothing or fabric) is a material like any other, intended to integrate a production process.
In 2002, the German chemist Michael Braungart and the American industrialist William McDonough published the reference book on the subject: Cradle to Cradle: remaking the way we make things .
Sixteen years later, upcycling remains in its infancy in France. The challenge remains to convince the majority of manufacturers and consumers that recovered and upcycled clothing can be stylish and, above all, last .
Unfortunately, it is clear that there are few brands in the segment. As for those we find:
- They offer little choice to the consumer
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- Prices remain relatively high, including for an e-shop like ASOS. Upcycling remains a niche phenomenon. Brands often go through a third-party creation workshop, which limits their room for maneuver in setting prices. Prices range between 50 and 150 euros, for the most affordable, and can quickly climb.
- Finally, some brands are clearly playing the “falsely eco-responsible fast-fashion” card. It is then up to us to be vigilant.
The final word…
According to the Danish Fashion Institute, it is the second most polluting industry in the world, after oil. Upcycling certainly doesn't do everything, but it allows you to create, produce and consume in a slightly more eco-responsible way.
If you have any suggestions or brands to share, don’t hesitate to mention them in the comments!
