L

ike every-
thing about
Looptworks,
the signature
on CEO and

Forget eo-founder Seott Hamlin's e-mail is a call to action: "Did

you know that it requires more than 400 gallons of water
to make one organic eotton T-shirt? Upeyele."
recycling. If you're not up on the green lingo, the best way to
think of upcyeling is that it's like a sexier, even greener
version of recycling. When something is recycled (or
Upcycling "downcyeled"), it's broken down into something of lesser
quality—a process that consumes energy. Upeyeling
is a treasure adds value by transforming or reinventing an otherwise-
disposable item into something of higher quality. It's the
trove for green ultimate in reuse—and a whole new industry sector is
shaping up around it.
business ideas— Looptworks personifies the upcyeling trend. Hamlin
launched the Portland, Ore.-based company with partners
and the force Gary Peek and Jim Stutts in September 2009. The three
apparel industry veterans were inspired by the sustainable
behind a fresh manufacturing methods of outdoor gear companies like
Royal Robbins and Patagonia, but they wanted to take it
new industry. even further—all the way to what Hamlin ealls "elosed
loop manufacturing." Looptworks was one of the first
players to truly close that manufacturing loop and make a
business of upeyeling—but it eertainly is not alone.

50 Entrepreneur//April 201 1
 "There's a plethora of people look- "Our goal," he says, "is to influence
ing into different angles in different consumer awareness and figure out a
industries—the opportunities in upcy- way to promote this non-mass-pro- LESSONS IN
cling are fascinating," Hamlin says. duced approach on a large scale."
Eor its part, Looptworks uses
GREEN TAILING
what it calls "pre-consumer excess" A GREEN MOVEMENT GOES VIRAL Small retailers are also finding
as source material for its accessories, Upcycling is ushering in an entirely new success with upcycling. The Re-
gear and apparel. Most of that is fac- wave of entrepreneurial innovation. Inspiration store in Atlanta's West
tory textile waste that, if Looptworks Its popularity is particularly clear in Design District is one of them.
didn't intervene, would be headed for online artist marketplaces like Etsy and Housed in a loft-like space, the
incineration or the dump. The result is ArtEire, which offer an abundance of store is stocked completely with
a collection of bright and stylish offer- upcycled goods: colorful jewelry cuffs upcycled or recycled items that
ings—like the Hoptu, a neon orange made from old vinyl records ($10 to owner Brooke Schultz consigns
laptop sleeve made of leftover wet- $28), chairs constructed out of used from independent artists—"eco-
suit material ($30), and a patchwork baseball bats and hockey sticks ($299), whimsy," she says, pointing out
sweatshirt-fleece hybrid Tranquilla dinged-up suitcases made into pet beds bobby pins from old Scrabble
vest equipped with "rescued" buttons (around $70) and trendy suitcases pieces, lamps made with Kahlua
and tags ($120). The fact that pro- crafted from jerrycans ($140). Eor bottle handles and robot-like
duction is limited based on available artists, the materials for upcycling can garden decorations composed of
materials ups the items' production cost next to nothing. The number of welded wrenches and pipes.
price—and their appeal. products on Etsy tagged with the word "I look for original objects,
Upcycling has proved to be great "upcycled" rocketed up from about where it's clear more care was
business for Looptworks, though 7,900 in January 2010 to nearly put into making them," Schultz
Hamlin is more likely to brag about 30,000 a year later—an increase says. "Being one-of-a-kind is
the 16 million gallons of water he's of 275 percent. part of the appeal."
conserved by upcycling and the fact Even luxury-goods firms But even in a recovering
that he's only bought five brand-new like Hermès are in on the economy, there's more to
items for the business (including a act, repurposing leftover running a specialty retail
hard drive, cables, a stamp to make scraps from their sig- store than finding cool
business cards and some signs). After nature scarves and stuff to sell. It's only been
less than two years, the company Birkin bags for a home a year and a half, and
employs 12 full- and part-timers and furnishings and ac- Re-Inspiration is already
creates nearly 50 retail offerings. cessories line dubbed profitable—and Schultz
Hamlin says factories have started to "petit h." (It debuts in says the store is getting
approach him for ideas about how the states in October.) And ready to go bigger.
to deal with their excess. celebrity chefs like Mario Here are a few of Schul-
tz's rules for success:

"People are interested in go-

UPCYCLING IN HISTORY ing green, so we've taken that
Before the Industrial Revolution, when new technologies made it more cost- idea and really executed it," she
effective to create new (often nonbiodegradable) things rather than reuse says. Re-Inspiration also offers
them, upcycling was a fact of life. Fabrics were separated into fibers like wool an interactive component, with
and cotton, broken down again and spun into new products. Henry Ford even workshops that teach customers
practiced an early form of upcycling. using the crates car parts were shipped how to upcycle their own stuff.
in as vehicle floorboards. "Our store is
Upcycling's resurgence in the business world can be traced to the 1992 dynamic," says Schultz, who
publication of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, a book every few months does a mas-
(printed on a synthetic paper made from plastic resins and inorganic fillers) sive reorganization that makes
by architect-and-chemist duo William McDonough and Michael Braungart the space look completely
proposing the idea that manufacturers were practicing a "cradle-to-grave" fresh, with different vendors
production approach, which recycling just wasn't good enough to counteract. and new products.
McDonough, who also co-founded McDonough Braungart Design
Chemistry, a cradle-to-cradle consulting and certification firm, agrees that Schultz has seen similar retailers
a growing number of companies are prioritizing the benefits of upcycling— fold due to customer service is-
and enjoying its business advantages. "Smart manufacturers understand sues. "Have service right out of
that thinking of use cycles means thinking about a customer's long-term the gate, and offer the type of
relationship with a product and brand," he says. caring you can't get at a big box,"
The challenge, of course, is making sure the application of cradle-to-cra- she says. "It's all about how you
dle philosophy isn't too superficial—and makes good business sense. —J.W. treat your customers." —J.W.

52 Entrepreneur // April 201 I

Ooríto

WAYS TO UPCYCLE
When it comes to collecting recyclable and upcyclable materials, the business
opportunities are "amazing," says Gal Raz, associate professor at the University of
Virginia Darden School of Business. "There are so many ways to incorporate reuse in
your business model and branding approach, but you have to figure out how it fits."
No kidding. Check out all the different ways businesses are upcycling. J W

W H A T T H E Y UPCYCLE BRILLIANCE

Equator Coffees Coffee waste to grow protein-rich mushrooms in

developing countries Promoting sustainable farming-and good coffee ^E«KsS
and Teas
Hammer S Hand Home construction and repurposing materials for furniture Saving jobs with a new revenue stream ^ ^ ^ ^ 1 ^ '

1 Customers' favorite old T-shirts are turned into laptop A selt-sustaining social enterprise that capitalizes on a s e n t P ^
Hello Rewind sleeves; profits help sex-trafficking victims mental, one-of-a-kind product
Leftover material and damaged goods tor a new line of Proving that luxury can be sustainable-yet equally expensive
Hermès accessories and décor
Going straight to factories and rescuing raw materials (for a
looptworks Overproduced textile waste to create a new retail line
great price)
Spawning a clean manufacturing movement among outdoor-
Patagonia Fleece made of plastic bottles clothing manufacturers

Trash to make new retail products Turning trash into treasure, literally

Batali have teamed with upcycling com- of designers are figuring out how to man business. "We saved the jobs of 40
panies to make lotions and soaps out of make jackets from Doritos bags and people," he says. "We got creative by
waste grease from restaurants. luggage from energy bar wrappers. necessity, but we changed our business
That scale that Looptworks' Hamlin "The market is ripe for more because it also makes financial sense."
is aiming for is already happening on innovation," Szaky says. "(Valued] at If there is a downside to upcycling,
the post-consumer end of the upcy- $12.5 million, TerraCycle is, without Hagerman says, it's the inefficiencies re-
cling market. If Etsy is considered the any debate, the biggest upcycler in the lated to organizing, moving and storing
epicenter of do-it-yourself upcycling, world. But compared to other indus- the supply. Regardless of how cheap any
then New Jersey-based TerraCycle tries, that's small—and that means reclaimed materials are, they can rep-
takes on that same function in mass there's way more opportunity." resent a huge waste of energy and time
upcycling. The company turns actual if you don't already have a purpose in
garbage into hundreds of products, like REUSING, AND DIVERSIFYING mind when you take possession of them.
Oreo wrapper backpacks and bicycle Upcycling can be a boon to existing Plus, there's the danger of running out.
chain picture frames. With a large-scale businesses as well. For Hammer Si "You can't develop a line of something,
collection infrastructure developed Hand, a Portland, Ore., design-build because there's no guaranteed way to get
over the past 10 years, TerraCycle nabs construction firm, upcycling became a more of the material," he says.
about I billion pieces of garbage every jobs-saving revenue stream during the Changing consumer attitudes are
quarter that ultimately end up on the recession. It began a decade ago, when contributing to the upcycling boom,
shelves of big-box retailers like Target co-founder and president Sam Hager- says artist Justin Gignac, who started
and The Home Depot. man quit using dumpsters. the NYC Garbage project in 2001,
Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of "I was writing the garbage man a when he made a bet that with the right
TerraCycle, started the operation as a $10,000 check every month, and I re- package design, you could sell any-
humble provider of worm poop while alized that could support a living wage thing, even garbage. These days, there's
he was a Princeton University fresh- and a half," he says. So he bought a a waiting list for his prettily packaged
man. But over the years the company's truck and started an in-house recycling clear plastic cubes of Manhattan-
increasing fortunes have mirrored the system in the yard of the office build- scavenged trash ($50 a piece), and he's
burgeoning opportunities in the green ing (which boasts flooring made from sold more than 1,300 of them to buyers
market. In 2009, sales revenue hit $7.5 recycled bleacher seats). in 29 countries. Gignac believes that
million; in 20 fO, it jumped to $20 mil- From then on, Hagerman took today's consumers are more aware of
lion. Since January, Szaky has added reusable parts from construction sites— waste and appreciate the ingenuity of
operations in nine more countries, framing components, light fixtures, people creating new stuff from old.
bringing the total to 20. appliances and lumber. "I realized we As Hamlin of Looprworks points
There's also serious behind-the- could get a beautiful pile of lumber for out, success is mostly about quality and
scenes innovation happening. Terra- free," he says, "and turn around and style, not just green. "The product has
Cycle employs "polymer scientists" add value to it." to be best-in-class, and it has to be cool,
who are immersed in figuring out ways When the construction industry innovative, stylish, fit right—all of those
to manipulate paper, organics and got a walloping in 2008, Hagerman things," he says. "And at the end of it, it
plastics into materials like a new plasdc weathered the downturn by entering happens to be upcycled. That's the way
himber and textile made from Capri the upcycled furniture market, along it should work. To me, it's a win-win for
Sun drink pouches. Meanwhile, teams with the home energy and the handy- business and the environment." E

Entrepreneur // April 2011 53

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