michaella sheridan, a local upcycling fashion designer in boston hangs up and redisplays her newly made crop shirts at her off-line store in cambridge, ma. (gyuri won)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\na red tank top originally a red sox t-shirt, a yellow knit with a smiling red lobster emblem representing boston, and a men’s yellow polo stripe shirt transformed into a business casual women\u2019s blouse with playful ruffles; sheridan is giving a new identity to discarded clothes. sheridan treats each piece of fabric like a piece of the puzzle and readjusts them to make something new. in her hands, old clothes are reborn with a new story and purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“i was born and raised in boston and that informs my taste and style,” she said. “the lobster is a culmination of all that \u2014 upcycling meets boston imagery and a core part of my brand is that i\u2019m not fussy. it all just works.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the challenges of sustainable fashion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n sheridan\u2019s passion for upcycling began in her childhood with her grandmother and her mother. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“my grandmother taught me to sew when i was a little kid and my mom taught me how to sell at a flea market,\u201d she said. \u201ci started sewing things and putting them at her booth. that was five years ago, and it\u2019s just snowballed from there.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
however, continuing a sustainable fashion business hasn\u2019t been easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“oh my god, a thousand times, yes,” she said, when asked if she\u2019s struggled. it is difficult for her to make the product line consistent and cohesive because working with found materials is unpredictable. “it is a challenge to make everything feel like it’s part of the same family. i don\u2019t buy fabric, so i work with what i find.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sustainability encompasses everything from the origin and composition of fabrics to the processes used in manufacturing, distribution, and post-consumer impact. according to anna s\u00e1ez de tejada cuenca, a professor at iese business school in navarre, spain, \u201cthe word ‘sustainability’ has many meanings, some people think about material properties if the material is made of an organic fiber, recycled fiber, or is going to be recyclable later.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
fashion brands like patagonia and outerknown embrace using organic materials or developing recycling technologies; however, it is complicated to say that all brands are sustainable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cshein is now trying to claim to be more sustainable and they are trying to develop recycling technologies. but that’s the biggest contradiction because they are a model for selling a lot of stuff cheaply with less durable stuff,\u201d s\u00e1ez de tejada cuenca said. “the ultimate change will come when clothes are more durable and we buy less.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
big brands and greenwashing greed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n brands are relying on mass production while they market their sustainability initiative. ongi min, a former environmental department fellow from south korea\u2019s anseong si sustainability committee, thinks it is a marketing strategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“i call them greenwashing,\u201d she said. \u201cshein or h&m say they are making an effort to be sustainable by using recycled materials. however, it doesn\u2019t change much because customers keep buying cheap clothes.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
sheridan pointed out the problem of fast fashion in the environmental crisis. “it\u2019s built on greed and a lack of understanding of what we actually need,\u201d she said. \u201cthe constant demand for cheap and disposable clothes creates so much waste. that\u2019s not sustainable.” the industry will be viewed as sustainable when the cloth itself becomes sustainable. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n
michaella sheridan holding a handwritten picket she used during a fast fashion movement near the h&m on newbury street in boston. (gyuri won)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\ngiving consumers a choice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n upcycling fashion brands like michmade are giving customers a way to feel as though they are contributing to solving the issue in their daily lives by changing their consumption patterns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201ci used to shop fast fashion without thinking about it,\u201d said jane park, a first-year graduate student at berklee college of music, standing in a crowded flea market in fenway. \u201ci used to feel powerless and depressed when i heard about environmental issues including textile waste piling up in landfills, but shopping from upcycling designers gives me a way to be part of the solution.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
jennifer song first discovered michmade at a flea market in fenway. she was drawn to the brand\u2019s unique selection of clothing, especially a crop top emblazoned with a boston sports team logo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201ci bought this cropped t-shirt that used to be a red sox t-shirt which is something you can always see if you live here. the fit was perfect, and i love that it has a story behind it,\u201d she said. \u201ci\u2019m literally wearing something that has a past life. that makes it feel special.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sheridan also values connecting with her customers. “if someone is emotionally attached to a shirt they bought from a designer, they\u2019ll take care of it and make it last longer,” she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
while social media has helped her grow her brand, she values the time that she spends meeting with customers in person even more. \u201cthey allow me to talk about what i do, explain the work, and show how these pieces can be styled,\u201d she said. \u201ci want people to understand the emotional value behind upcycling.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
in a small boston studio, a designer with an eye for upcycling gives discarded fabrics a new life through her unique designs, proving that the future of fashion does not have to be wasteful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31834,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4938,4920,4914],"tags":[],"storyfest_categories":[],"class_list":["post-47108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pollution","category-recycling-upcycling","category-sustainability"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
upcycling fashion: \u201cbuy clothes you wanna grow old with\u201d<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n