The pretty face of recycling – upcyclette.com.au

SYDNEY, 16 NOVEMBER 2012: Coinciding with the National Recycling Week, Australia’s first online retailer dedicated to upcycling fashion has launched today. The website www.upcyclette.com.au represents a number of predominantly European fashion and accessories brands which are all made exclusively from upcycled material.

Upcycling has been described as recycling’s good-looking sister. By definition, it is “the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or for better environmental value” (Wikipedia). The trend of upcycling has swept across Europe and the US in recent years and resulted in a multitude of dedicated blogs and retailers – and has captured the imagination of countless designers across the globe.

The products currently sold via upcyclette.com.au are all designed and made in Switzerland or Germany, both countries absolute world leaders in recycling. In Switzerland for example 94% of glass, 91% of aluminum and 69% of paper consumed go back into the cycle. It comes as little surprise that in those countries, even old fire hoses and airlines’ life vests would be turned into stunningly designed bags and accessories.

All of upcyclette’s brands are sustainably and ethically manufactured and sourced directly from the makers in order to provide fair remuneration while being competitive in Australia. The design and craft which goes into the products is absolutely exceptional. These handmade products contrast humbly with a consumer world which is dominated by transience and wastefulness – actually offering something genuine and lasting.

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