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| Upcycled bags. (China Daily) |
Bjarnason points out that upcycling is a way of life in developing countries without people knowing it.
"Africans have great craftsmanship in making handicrafts from all kinds of materials. But they don't know they are actually upcycling the materials. They haven't realized the business potential of these upcycled products," Bjarnason says.
Besides public education about upcycling, designers also need to come up with appealing creations.
Yang Wenqing, associate professor at the College of Design and Innovation of Shanghai-based Tongji University, cites Freitag bag, a Swiss brand known for bags made of truck canvas and car seat-belt, as a good example of a successful upcycling industrial design.
The professor has seen in Freitag bag the potential of turning upcycling into big business. Bags are priced at more than 1,000 yuan ($160) each but is commonly seen in Switzerland.
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