Upcycling: Salvage with Style
As Earth Day approaches, it’s the perfect time to think about ways to do our part to help keep our planet happy and healthy. Being resale retail business owners, you’re already leaps and bounds ahead in that department. By offering an easy way for people to recycle their clothing, kids items, sports equipment, and music gear, you’re saving millions of items from ending up in a landfill. You see the potential in these items, but how can you help your customers see the same earth saving value as you do? Well, one owner has a unique collaboration that can help you spread the joy of upcycling!
Ann Brown, owner of Plato’s Closet in Asheville, North Carolina, was approached with an interesting idea from another local business to help promote both of their operations and encourage people to get creative with thrifted items. Archetype Brewing is a local Asheville company that was looking for ways to reduce waste and their carbon footprint. They teamed up with Plato’s Closet to create unique and eco-friendly merchandise to sell in the Archetype Brewing taproom. The brewery purchased guy’s and girl’s items like denim jackets and flannels to then spruce up with the addition of their logo. These items turned out pretty fantastic… see for yourself!
It’s actually a pretty simple partnership. Plato’s Closet offers Archetype Brewing advanced selection on clothing items prior to those items going on sale. The brewery then saves anywhere from 50% to 90% off these items before the general public does. Once those items are purchased, Archetype Brewing adds their flair and offers them in their taproom for sale. Plato’s Closet not only earns a profit from these sales, but takes advantage of cross promotion with the brewery.
The timing of this collaboration launch was halted due to current COVID-19 regulations, but Ann is already gearing up to offer more items with upcycling potential. “...in fact I am creating an up-cycling bin with clothes that have minor repair issues which someone could easily fix and make “work” again so that when the day comes for us to have a community event for up-cyclers, we’ll be ready” Ann stated. In the future, Ann hopes to hold an upcycling event to help inspire and encourage customers to join in the eco-conscious movement as she explains “Asheville has the perfect demographic for this type of activity/event…” which offers huge potential for appealing to local customers.
The push for recycling and sustainability is not one we see disbanding any time soon. Putting yourself on the forefront of this movement and encouraging your customers to participate is a huge way you can help reduce waste and carbon footprints as well. If this idea is something that inspires you, we encourage you to reach out to local businesses that could benefit from the use of your recycled items and create fresh and exciting merchandise. You never know what new customers you could gain by stepping outside of the box with a new collaboration.
Photos provided by Ann Brown courtesy of Archetype Brewing
