All about upcycling
Make a lamp from a PVC pipe, divert a wicker garbage can you no longer use to make a lampshade, recycle copper pipes to make a lamp base, the possibilities for upcycling in lighting manufacture are numerous. Hoopzi, with its clever light strings , is the partner of all fans of upcycling, THE trend that lets you make new yourself from old.
We explain everything you need to know about upcycling with Hoopzi cords in this article!
What is upcycling?
Upcycling in a nutshell...
You think you're an expert in recycling, or at least on your way to becoming one. So it's time to move on to... overcycling! Sorry, the... what?
Overcycling is the French translation of the English word Upcycling. It's the name given to a concept that allows an object to be diverted into another object, for a different use, and offering it a more qualitative dimension. A new technique? No, not really... surely you've already seen wooden pallets transformed into coffee tables, giant old cable spools converted into high tables, or old chairs turned into planters in their second life? That's what upcycling is all about!
A not-so-new technique...
The name upcycling or overcycling didn't appear until the 90s, but it's fair to say that our grandparents were already adept at it, as they had different consumption habits to us. They practiced it in the kitchen, in sewing, and sometimes with everyday items. It has to be said that it was sometimes easier to make new out of old, and reuse an object rather than throw it away!
Upcycling could also be observed in countries where access to basic products was sometimes restricted. Far from resigning themselves to the situation, local populations have demonstrated their ingenuity in getting their own copy of a product that was not available in their shops, and at a lower cost. African countries were relatively prolific, creating bags and fashion accessories from plastic waste gleaned from garbage cans, or clothing from fabric scraps.
Even though there are many approaches today to raise our awareness of zero waste, anti-waste, the circular economy and any other idea of environmental preservation, upcycling nevertheless remains little-known. Above all, it is nowhere near as popular as recycling. So get a head start, and master the nuances between these two anti-waste techniques.
What's the difference between upcycling and recycling?
Although both concepts start from the same idea, namely reusing materials to avoid waste, there is a fundamental difference between these approaches.
Recycling involves destroying the original materials in order to make a recycled object, so often we can't even see what the starting point was. We agree with you that for glass, recycling is "basic" and that we recognize transformed materials: glass becomes glass again, after having been broken, crushed, transformed, and we remain somewhat in the same categories of objects. But let's face it, if we don't tell you, you'll have a hard time guessing that your watering can was made from plastic shampoo bottles, and that your fleece clothes were made from recycled cardboard!
Upcycling, on the other hand, is distinguished from recycling by this absence of destruction, with this technique, we use the object as it is to make another piece, adding a search for added value. The original object sometimes remains visible, or at least identifiable, and we are grateful to it for having succeeded in giving life to a new object, often both useful and decorative. This original object, which we've seen age but didn't want to throw away, lives on with us, and we treasure it fondly.
In creative circles, upcycling is sometimes second nature: scraps of wood from craftsmen spontaneously become art trinkets, tires come to life as seats... The fashion industry is a specialist in the field: a garment that is too old, that has shrunk or whose colors have faded, can be reused to become another textile object, used for decoration for example, or to make doll's clothes. And fashion being creative by nature, some artisans and sewing manufacturers are now even committed to using scraps of fabric or threads once destined to be discarded or destroyed to make new ready-to-wear pieces. Still others are having fun, for example, creating belts from tires...
In any case, Hoopzï says bravo to all these ideas (and those to come) whose aim is to reduce the volume of waste to create from the existing. After all, it's not only in science that "nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed"!
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The benefits of upcycling
An approach that preserves the environment
With the upcycling technique, we reuse existing objects instead of throwing them away. It can even be done on an individual level, without engaging in energy-consuming activities such as washing, destroying, remanufacturing on an industrial scale. An ideal concept, then, for combating waste, and thus contributing to the preservation of the environment and existing resources.
Upcycling avoids creating new waste. It proves to be an ideal solution for lowering the ecological footprint because the piece you're about to create is made from an object that was normally destined to become waste.
The satisfaction of infinite creativity
Upcycling also brings you personal satisfaction. By imagining and making an object, you contribute to your personal development, which often comes to fulfill your creative urges, for your own pleasure.
Another advantage of upcycling is that you'll be making a unique piece, which by definition will be rare. In the case of an upcycled light fixture, the object you have thought up and created will also have a low cost, as it will be derived from an object you already owned.
So, you upcycle an object into a luminaire when, for example, you give your jar a makeover with a Hoopzï cord to create a luminaire or use a tin can to transform it into a shade hanging from a suspension luminaire Hoopzï.
Hoopzi's mission is to be a brand of designer lights that are modular and easy to install. The HOOPZI range of pendant lights guarantees quality manufacturing, with all lighting products holding a certificate of conformity: using Hoopzi means upcycling in complete safety.
Upcycling in the world of Hoopzï
Upcycling for CHR - BUREAU - ERP luminaires
More and more companies and establishments receiving the public (ERP) want to use upcycling techniques to reduce their carbon impact. Hoopzï, a supplier of luminaires for professional use, offers a range of luminaires certified as compliant by the leading independent testing laboratories. This allows professionals to create new pendant lights from objects that have lost their original purpose using Hoopzï ready-to-plug luminaire cords.
More and more architects are sensitive to the recycling of materials and objects that enable them to reduce carbon impact, and concretely display their eco-responsible approach and contribution to the circular economy. Using materials and processes with little or no impact using the upcycling technique is the best solution to achieve this goal.
Hoopzi and upcycling
The Dote and Coppa lampshades from Hoopzï are made from oyster shell waste, transformed into bio materials, then injected to become a lampshade. These Hoopzï lampshades are made 100% from waste. So, recycling or upcycling? Hoopzï oyster-based lampshades are not upcycled lampshades but eco-designed lampshades made from biomaterials.
An upcycled lamp could come from driftwood diverted to become the support for a suspension light, in the manner of a floor-standing lamp. The driftwood has not been destroyed, it has been used as is, and valorized. The designer's added value is limitless and depends on each individual's inspiration.
Hoopzï has a product strategy dictated by reducing its environmental impact. Packaging is eco-designed, electrical products are guaranteed for 10 years because we offer sustainable products. Since 2022, electrical wires have been made exclusively with natural fibers that require no watering or phytosanitary products.
We are a brand that motivates its consumers to practice upcycling. Our Cordon Bala product is highly suited to this DIY activity, which gives objects a second life and plays a positive role in everyone's environmental impact.
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