January 31, 2018

5 Innovative Zero Waste, Upcycled Ideas, Products and Marketplaces

celebrating the art of upcycling and zero waste marketplaces. taking a twist on the old or infusing with new technology to create zero waste.

the world’s first recycling mall is found in eskilstuna

ReTuna Återbruksgalleria is the world’s first recycling mall, revolutionizing shopping in a climate-smart way. Old items are given new life through repair and upcycling. Everything sold is recycled or reused or has been organically or sustainably produced.

But, ReTuna is more than just a marketplace. It also aims to be a public educator. ReTuna organizes events, workshops, lectures, theme days, and more – all with a focus on sustainability. The folk high school Eskilstuna Folkhögskola conducts its one-year education program “Recycle Design – Återbruk” in the premises. There are also conference rooms, where guests can hold climate-smart meetings. Organic lunch and baked treats are on offer at Café Returama.

Interview with Jennifer Saunders Ab Fab

upcycle pop - america's first upcycle market

UPcyclePOP is an interactive pop-up market and workspace for artistically repurposed and upcycled art, furniture, fashion, home design and inventions. Watch artists create works of art from discarded items, try out a workshop or two and play with the interactive art installations.
UPcyclePOP is free to the public with free parking.

Knowing it is impossible to indefinitely run a linear system on a finite planet, we experimenting with circular economy principles: UPcyclePOP is America’s first upcycle market.  Remake, play, shop, eat and get creative.

Artists Application

The Fab Lab Network intends to educate society about making almost anything we need. Using digital fabrication as its main focus, the network promotes the idea of distributed manufacturing. With this model, designs can be sent to the other side of the planet, modified and made on the same day.

It’s a new online shop where you can find a variety of locally made products designed by people from all over the world. All products are open-source and sold ready for use, assembly or fabrication, giving people the possibility to participate in the making process. The more you participate, the less you pay for the product.

With open source designs and distributed manufacturing, quality products can be customized, resourced, fabricated and sold locally. At the same time, this brings people closer to the fabrication of products.

Making products that adapt to people’s needs, culture or taste —and giving the buyer direct contact with the supplier— increases transparency in the supply chain and gives the opportunity to know exactly who you are working with and how.

The Fab Market wants to give talented creators, designers or makers a place where they can fabricate their creations for a low price and sell globally at the same time.

By eliminating long distance shipping of materials and products, both time and cost can be taken off the production process, giving room for reducing costs of the final product.

Join Their Market or be a Seller

This is a very interesting center offering Tinker programs for kids, materials playgroups, events and workshops for adults as well.  You can become a member and purchase material things from their shop. Make donations!

UpCycle Creative Reuse Center – 1605 Cameron Street – Alexandria, Virginia – 22314 | 703-861-8705

REUSE ALEXANDRIA
UNITES OUR REUSE COMMUNITY
We bring together diverse local businesses to make real change.

Other city initiatives:
Upcycle Tucson

Materials donations:
Raft Colorado:

CARRIE ARMSTRONG TALKS TO BROTHERS WE STAND FOUNDER

The spaces in SUP will be used in diverse ways including design shops, exhibition hall, co-working space, lecture rooms, studios and material bank. The resource recycling rate in Seoul is 66%, that is the highest level in the world, but it is simply “recycling.”

Due to the increase of consumption, people easily buy and dispose of things. However, Seoul city felt the need of citizen’s consciousness about up-cycling to increase the resource value (high-value recycling), Upcycling is a new way of circulating the resources and protecting the environment by considering its value after it has lost its original use. Upcycling helps us to care about the environment and nature and also to think more when making things at first.

The SUP will increase awareness of the resource circulation through various programs such as citizen participating events, up-cycling experience tour, upcycling cultural festival and by doing that, citizens and tourists can see, experience and learn all about up-cycling.

ARIRANG NEWS: NEW 'UPCYCLING' CENTER OPENS IN SEOUL

The Repurpose Schoolbag  is seamlessly designed for dignity, and durability. By harnessing wearable solar technology which charges during the day. At night, can be easily detached from the bag and turns into lantern to enable study. Each bag is made entirely from PVC billboards and by repurposing them into a meaningful use, we ensure the preservation of the environment.

CHOICE NOT CHARITY

From carrying their books in a plastic bag or having no schoolbag at all, by giving a child a Repurpose Schoolbag, you are helping to make a change to that child’s life by encouraging that child to commit to staying in school.

LIGHT TO READ AFTER DARK

Because every Repurpose Schoolbag is fitted with a portable solar panel that turns into desk lamp providing up to 12 hours of light for reading & doing homework.

SAFETY WHILE WALKING TO SCHOOL

The Repurpose Schoolbag design integrates retro-reflective material that effectively increases the visibility of children as they walk to school in the early morning, especially during those dark winter morning months.

WATCH: SOLAR SCHOOLBAGS POWERING EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA | THATO KGATLHANYE, REPURPOSE | ONE YOUNG WORLD (3:02)

This amazing creative and technology experience center is part 3D printing lab, part electronic maker space, and part café. Proto is a fun, hands-on place where people of all ages and experience levels can come together around a simple, yet powerful idea: “I want to make something great.”

MAKER BENCHES AND ELECTRONICS LAB

“My old man is a television repair man, he’s got the ultimate set of tools…”

And we at Proto do too. We call it a Maker Bench and all 8 of them are available for you to use. Each bench is fully equipped with a digital solder station, power supply, laptop and a full set of small electronics hand tools. It’s everything you need to make or fix almost anything.

Make Stuff Happen