Upcycling rather than the more
conventional recycling is the order of the day for many Italians
this year in search for Christmas gifts for friends and family,
a survey carried out by Espresso Communication has found.
The trend that began in the United States involving the
creative reuse of unwanted products by transforming them into
items of better quality or environmental value has been taken up
particularly by women aged 30-45, especially in big cities such
as Milan and Rome.
Items that best lend themselves to upcycling include
furnishings, old clothes and vintage jewellery, while upcyclers
are typically motivated by the pursuit of originality and
sustainability and attention to cost.
"Upcycling is an evolution of recycling, presupposing the
fact that waste, the unwanted object, can not only be given new
life but also acquire additional value with respect to the
original material or object," sociologist Anna Rosa Montani of
Rome's Sapienza university said.
"Italy is currently experiencing a prolonged serious economic
crisis accompanied by widespread attention to environmental
issues, which is perhaps now for the first time inducing many
people to pass from words to action," she continued.
"In this context, upcycling would seem to combine the demands
of conscience with those of the wallet, and also with the
national propensity for creativity," Montani said.
The term 'Upcycling' was coined by the journalist ReinerPilz
in 1984 but went mainstream with the book of the same title by
Gunter Pauli in 1997.
In Denmark the evolution of the phenomenon has been such that
the government has officially advised Danes to make
"second-hand" gifts.
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