Disclaimer: We welcome a new writer to our columns today. Welcome to Séga, a great vintage lover. Sensitive to environmental issues and the excesses of fashion, he introduces us to "upcycling" for more responsible consumption. The floor is his!
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We've all found ourselves in front of our closet overflowing with more clothes than we should have. 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 occasion allowed you to realize that you may have bought far too many pieces...
To avoid this kind of overflow, it's best to focus on the basics of your wardrobe. However, if the damage — or rather the too good, rather — is already done, an alternative is available to you: upcycling.
We could translate it as "recycling from above". The idea? Recover old clothes from your wardrobe, or from a thrift store, and give them a second life ...
Can you start upcycling on your own?
Your dressing room is a gold mine, especially if it is full to bursting. Upcycling can then be used to refresh it . The only requirement: have enough imagination to reinvent the pieces in your wardrobe.
There are several possible alterations to 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.
- Sleeve length and seams : why not consider a jacket with 7/8 sleeves, to break up the length of your arms?
- Adjust the bust , by cinching a jacket that you no longer want to be straight, for example.
- The cut of a pair of pants , which can be readjusted without too much difficulty.
Tired of an old bomber jacket? Why not take inspiration from Alpha Industries models and decorate it with some badges?
When you have a clear idea of what you want, go through one of the retouchers present in your region so that the “upcycled” piece can see the light of day. In concrete terms, it will only cost you the price of the retouching.
If you have no preconceptions about the matter, thrift stores , garage sales and consignment shops are a great playground. You can go there to buy second-hand clothes and then (have) them customized.
The good compromise: buy already upcycled clothes
You don't feel like a designer? You like beautiful clothes and you want to limit your ecological impact by participating in a circular economy? So you are a reasonable consumer.
In France, the Internet has enabled the emergence of new players with a strong ecological awareness.
The French supermarket brand has launched into upcycling. These pants cost 85 euros.
Have you noticed? Prices are often higher than for classic vintage clothing, because of the additional labor cost.
La Draft Paris is another label taking the upcycling route. Every week, the creators of this urban brand visit Parisian thrift stores and select pieces according to their quality. They are then worked on 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. Expect to pay at least 199 euros for a raincoat.
Present only on the Internet, the brand offers an alteration 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 recovered from fashion houses.
The brand offers a tailored wardrobe with a minimal style. The collection is extremely exclusive. For example, this jacket at 450 euros only exists in four copies.
When fashion giants smell the goldmine...
Fast fashion and upcycling: the emergence of a paradox
Today, upcycling is everywhere. On the fast-fashion side, the Uniqlo brand has been regularly organizing clothing collections since 2012. The most used items are disassembled to create insulating material.
In no particular order, we can mention Urban Outfitters and H&M, among others… Upcycling remains a way for these brands to continue to produce (and therefore sell) clothes at a lower cost. So pay attention to the quality of these clothes.
The ASOS e-shop has created the range of upcycled clothing " Reclaimed Vintage ".
Some more high-end brands are also getting into recycling from the top . Since 2011, APC (for Atelier de Production et de Création) has never lived up to its name so well. Its "APC Butler" program is intended for owners of one of their jeans. The principle is as follows: APC recovers your old model, processes it again (or even reconditions it) and resells it at half price.
With this look, Boris from Borasification adopts a workwear style... in APC Butler jeans.
In 2015, the luxury group Kering announced a partnership with Worn Again . The start-up, specializing in research and development, has developed a recycling technology capable of separating and extracting polyester and cotton cellulose from old or used clothing. The materials are then used to make new textiles and clothing. In short, almost perfect upcycling, except that we are still waiting to see the concrete application in our wardrobes…
To our Parisian friends, the “ Episode ” boutique offers a line of reworked clothing: it's the "Reworked" range. Further down the same street, " Kiliwatch " offers the same concept with its "Culture Vintage" range. However, you will have to part with at least 60 euros for interesting pieces...
The difficulty of consuming better
An effort on the part of 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 lines, so that starting in spring 2018, it will offer only two options: 100% organic cotton, and a cotton/recycled polyester blend. The brand explicitly acknowledges that organic cotton has a negative impact on the environment and is taking action to limit its footprint.
To give you an idea: a 250 gram T-shirt requires about 2,500 liters of water; a pair of 800 gram jeans requires 8,000 liters just for irrigation. This is an average calculated by the Water Footprint Network of corporate and university partners.
Reviewing our habits
Upcycling also involves changing consumer behavior. Let's be clear: there's no fast fashion without fashion victims . To help you quit, Love Your Clothes , an initiative of the Wrap association, offers consumers information at every stage of the process, from smarter shopping, repair, customization 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. As you can see, the principle is simple: waste (used clothing or fabric) is a material like any other, intended to be integrated into a production process.
In 2002, German chemist Michael Braungart and American industrialist William McDonough published the reference book on the subject: Cradle to Cradle: remaking the way we make things .
Sixteen years later, upcycling is still in its infancy in France. The challenge remains to convince the majority of manufacturers and consumers that a recovered and upcycled garment can be stylish and, above all, last .
Unfortunately, it is clear that there are few brands in the segment. As for those that can be found:
- They offer little choice to the consumer .
- Prices remain relatively high, even 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 from 50 to 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 us to create, produce and consume in a slightly more eco-responsible way.
If you have any suggestions or brands to share, please feel free to mention them in the comments!
