Patagonia Has Had Enormous Success With Upcycled Clothing. Could Other Brands Follow?
I didn’t think I could pull of the bohemian upcycled look—jeans held together with safety pins and jackets covered in patches. But Patagonia has changed my mind. In late 2019, it launched ReCrafted, a collection of one-of-a-kind pieces made from scraps of fabric waste that are even more beautiful versions of its iconic products. ReCrafted launched as an experiment, but over the last year and a half, it’s proven to be a resounding success, says Alex Kremer, who overseas it as the head of Patagonia’s used gear business. The brand has now sold thousands of handcrafted products made from clothes destined for landfill. Priced between $57 and $231, they cost more than new versions of the items, but customers snap them up so quickly they often sell out. Kremer is now making the case that it’s possible for fashion brands of all sizes to upcycle products as part of their business and create a lucrative new revenue stream in the process. Read more at Fast Company.
