Challenges and opportunities for scaling up upcycling businesses – the case of textile and wood upcycling businesses in the UK
- Submitting institution
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Nottingham Trent University
- Unit of assessment
- 32 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
- Output identifier
- 4R - 1202577
- Type
- D - Journal article
- DOI
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10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.104439
- Title of journal
- Resources, Conservation and Recycling
- Article number
- 104439
- First page
- -
- Volume
- 150
- Issue
- -
- ISSN
- 0921-3449
- Open access status
- Compliant
- Month of publication
- August
- Year of publication
- 2019
- URL
-
-
- Supplementary information
-
-
- Request cross-referral to
- -
- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
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4
- Research group(s)
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D - Product Innovation Centre
- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- Yes
- Additional information
- Upcycling is the process whereby parts or materials from discarded products are used in a creative way to add value to their compositional elements. Although there has been a resurgence of interest in upcycling it remains a niche practice.
The research undertaken was rigorous, employing a range of methods that included stakeholder analysis, around thirty semi-structured interviews, group model building and the development of causal loop diagrams. A workshop with over twenty experts and stakeholders validated the diagrams and explored potential interventions. The paper presents a systemic approach to understanding stakeholder perspectives on challenges and success factors for scaling-up upcycling businesses and carefully describes the mechanisms through which proposed interventions were identified.
Upcycling businesses are a poorly understood part of the emergent circular economy. The paper’s originality arises from its identification and examination of different sets of challenges for these businesses and the success factors perceived across the value chain. The research extends understanding of how upcycling businesses work, the challenges they face, support they need, how different factors influence each other in the value chain, and potential actions required for scaling-up the practice. The paper thereby contributes both to conceptual understanding and practices of upcycling.
The significance of the paper is its importance in understanding the challenges and success factors facing this part of the circular economy and identifying the actors most likely to help upcycling businesses succeed. Creating and validating the causal loop diagrams uncovered key mechanisms to strengthen the market, such as enabling upcyclers to gain access to critical resources (i.e. skills, materials) and collaboration between stakeholders to make implementation of interventions for scaling up businesses more effective. The practical outcome of upcycling would be to increase the quality and lifetimes of products, reduce waste, create employment opportunities and encourage sustainable behaviour.
- Author contribution statement
- -
- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
- -
