Circular Economy Solutions from Upcycle
Upcycle Creative helps organisations solve their material challenges through circular economy solutions. We work with corporate sustainability, ESG, procurement, and marketing teams to find responsible routes for materials that would otherwise be discarded, and to turn suitable materials into high quality products. Upcycling is one of the ways we can help, not the whole offer. Where upcycling is not the right answer for a material, we help you find the route that is.
What does Upcycle Creative do?
Upcycle Creative is a circular economy partner, not a recycler or a waste handler. We start with your material challenge and your reporting needs, then design a solution around the outcome you want. That solution may mean advising on the best route for a material, producing upcycled products from it, or creating usable merchandise from your own obsolete stock. Production runs through community production networks in and around Johannesburg, so keeping a material in use also creates work.
What material challenges can we help with?
We work with organisations that are holding materials and are not sure what to do with them responsibly. Common examples include:
- Billboard and banner PVC vinyl once a campaign comes down
- Obsolete, over-ordered, or rebranded inventory and uniforms
- Display, event, and point of sale material after use
- Glass, plastic, paper, and fabric streams from operations
If your material is not on this list, the starting point is the same. Tell us what you have and we will tell you the most responsible route for it.
How do we solve them?
We apply three things, usually in this order.
- Advisory and route finding. We assess the material and recommend the most responsible and practical route for it. Sometimes that route is upcycling with us. Sometimes it is a different route entirely, and we will tell you so honestly. The advice is where every project starts, and it is as central to what we do as production is.
- Circular production. Where a material suits it, we turn it into high quality upcycled products through our community production networks. This keeps the material in use rather than discarded, and the work supports the makers who produce it.
- Branded and corporate merchandise. We can turn suitable materials, including your own obsolete branded stock, into corporate gifts and merchandise your teams can use. This gives redundant inventory a second, useful life under your own brand.
Who is this for?
This page is for corporate sustainability, ESG, procurement, and marketing decision makers who need a credible, reportable answer for a material stream. It is also for any organisation sitting on obsolete inventory or campaign material and looking for a responsible route rather than disposal.
What can you report from working with us?
You can report recorded material diversion and the emissions avoided, compiled internally and openly from our production records. Our figures are compiled internally from production records, are not independently assured, and we make the underlying records available to any client who asks.
See the full recorded figures and the calculation basis on our impact page: Waste Diverted and Results.
Which organisations have we produced work for?
We have produced work for organisations including AVBOB, FNB, DP World, DHL, AWS, and Goodbye Malaria.
Talk to us about your materials
Tell us what you are holding and what you need to report, and we will recommend a route.
Email mark@upcycle.co.za or contact us.
Frequently asked questions
Is Upcycle Creative a recycler?
No. We are a circular economy partner. A recycler processes a material back into raw feedstock. We advise on the best route for a material and, where it suits, keep it in use as a finished product.
Do you only upcycle?
No. Upcycling is one of the routes we offer. Our first job is to recommend the most responsible route for your material, which is sometimes upcycling and sometimes something else.
Can you work with our obsolete branded stock?
Yes. We can turn suitable obsolete or rebranded inventory into merchandise you can use, so redundant stock is put back to use under your own brand rather than discarded.
Where are you based?
We are based in Johannesburg, Gauteng, and produce through community production networks across the region.
What can we report to our ESG or sustainability team?
Recorded material diversion and the emissions avoided, compiled internally from our production records, with the underlying records available on request.