5 Ways to Upcycle Your Clothes

Many people are familiar with the term recycling, but not many are familiar with the term upcycling. Upcycling is the creative reuse and transformation of items for a new purpose. This could be as simple as painting an old coffee mug and turning it into a flower pot, or completely transforming a collection of worn t-shirts into a homemade quilt.

Here at Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona, we’re all about upcycling within our stores. We believe in giving a piece of clothing or furniture new life!

Upcycling is easy! All you need is a vision and some creative inspiration.

Here are Five Ways to Upcycle Your Clothes from Goodwill

Add an embellishment

One way to give an item of clothing new life is to add some sort of embellishment to it. Add a patch or brooch to a jean jacket. Glue on or clip on some bling to make a basic shoe perfect for a cocktail party. Plus, sewing on decals and patches can make an item look vintage.  

Cut to a new length

If you find a pair of pants that fit great everywhere except the length, consider cutting them off to achieve the length you want. This can be done to turn pants into shorts or a long skirt into a short one. One trend we’re seeing is crop sweatshirts, which can easily be done by cutting off a sweatshirt you find at Goodwill.

Wear in a new way

One thing we know for sure about fashionistas is that they’re creative. Wearing an oversized men’s dress shirt as a skirt? So cute! Wearing a dress as a tunic over jeans? Love it! Wearing an item in a new way is a form of upcycling because you’re using it in a different way than it was intended.

Dye a new color

Remember making tie-dye shirts in elementary school? You can do that with your clothes now, too! Using a stencil and some dye, you can add a new logo or quote to a plain shirt. Or add some character to a pair of pants by dipping the ends in some bleach.

Cross-over styles

Creating your own style trends is way more fun than following other trends, don’t you think? You can wear a conservative top even if you tend to wear more bohemian styles. That’s the beauty of fashion. Wear something that’s out of your style comfort zone as a form of upcycling your clothes.

When you shop at Goodwill for clothes, you’re upcycling by honoring the former life of the item in a new way. Adding your own touch through embellishments, dye, or sheer creativity will truly give your clothing a new life.

Did you know that whatever we can’t sell at our stores, we recycle? It’s true. Learn more about how shopping and donating at Goodwill can positively impact our community and environment.