7 Creative DIY Wine Rack Ideas That Use Upcycled Materials

Good News Notes: “DIY-ing your home decor is not only a fun project, but it also makes for a great conversation piece. You get to show off your creativity and crafting skills while also making something you can enjoy in your home. And now, you can make a DIY wine rack using upcycled materials. Upcycling is the process of…

Upcycled crops used to make new, surprising products in Japan

Good News Notes: “Upcycling crops that would have otherwise been thrown away is becoming more popular, from making denim out of sugarcane residue to cooking jam from concentrated banana skins. As there is a wide variety of upcycled products, such environmentally friendly brands are likely to catch the eye of consumers. Residue resulting from pressed…

Peder Cho Upcycles Designer Bags Into Just About Anything

Good News Notes: “Got an old Louis Vuitton bag lying around? Do you secretly wish it were a pair of sandals? Fret not, because a new TikTok designer can totally transform it for you. Peder Cho is a 29-year-old designer based in Los Angeles who is turning designer bags into just about anything—from shoes to bikinis. “My business is…

Israeli start-up devises way to convert used nappies into green plastics

Good News Notes: “UBQ Materials is researching a way for turning common household waste into sustainable plastics. The Tel Aviv based start-up is set on developing a material out of the likes of paper, mixed plastics, food residue and dirty diapers that could serve as a substitute to conventional plastic, wood and concrete. This material…

New discovery: Scientists turn plastic bottles into vanilla flavoring

Good News Notes: “While the world is slowly taking small steps to reduce plastic consumption, it becomes more and more evident how global plastic pollution has alarming effects on humans, wildlife, and the environment.  Plastics lose their material value after one use, which is why it is important to find more ways to upcycle them…

Something old, something new? Fashionistas urge industry to use recycled rejects

Good News Notes: “The high ceiling of clothing designer Doron Ashkenazi’s studio in the Florentin neighborhood in Tel Aviv is hung with racks upon racks of his Mediterranean-styled men’s clothing, a sea of linen shirts, jackets and pants from seasons past. “All that surplus?” said Ashkenazi, pointing toward the ceiling. “It’s lost money. Leftover inventory…

Gaza cafe complex serves up lessons in recycling alongside drinks

Good News Notes: “As a model of creative recycling in one of the most densely populated places on earth, a Gaza Strip cafe is serving up a healthy dose of environmentalism alongside its signature morning coffee. The beachside venue is part of the “Sea is Ours” co-operative, a complex built of reused wooden poles, plastic…

Waste hop stem in the beer industry upcycled into cellulose nanofibers

Good News Notes: “Some three quarters of the biomass in hop plants used in beer-making ends up in landfills. But a group of Japanese researchers has developed a technique that ‘upcycles’ that waste hop into cellulose nanofibers (CNFs). A paper describing the technique was published in the journal ACS Agricultural Science & Technology on June 11. In…

Timberland Launches Upcycling Program to Extend its Products’ Lifecycles

Good News Notes: “Timberland will launch ReCircled, a recycling and upcycling program that will fuel the retailer’s circular design and development cycle. The initiative is a major step in Timberland’s goal of having a net positive impact on nature by 2030, through reuse and promotion of regenerative farming practices. Starting in August 2021, ReCircled will let…