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Upcycling Clothes with the Flexispot ES9W

09 September 2021

Cotton fibers are spun into yarn. Spun yarn is indigo-dyed. The dyed yarn is woven on a shuttle loom with the weft thread passing through the warp threads in a back and forth pattern. The fabric is made and sold to a garment-making factory. The seamstress makes the necessary measurements and forms pants. The label of the big buyer is sewn into the pants. It’s shipped along with other pants of the same material and design. Once it reaches the headquarters of the big buyer, it is distributed into a store. A customer sees it on display, tries it on, and loves the fit. It is bought and stored in a personal wardrobe. It is washed and dried, washed and dried—used time and again by the owner for a grocery errand, a picnic at the park, a casual date with the boyfriend. The owner outgrows it and hands it down to a younger relative. The younger relative wears it a few more times until she cuts it to make a cute bag for school. The rest is used for a custom bucket hat. 

This is the denim story. But not every piece of clothing is treated like denim. 

We don’t give clothes the same value as what we give gadgets. We are even willing to pay more for a Starbucks cup of coffee than a perfect white shirt. We buy new clothes every season and store the old ones into oblivion--- never mind, that we had only used it once. The fashion industry thrives in this cycle of overconsumption, luring people into trends and making them buy more through the 52 micro-seasons fast fashion has created. 

Wardrobes are filled with unused clothes that would then be discarded without having served their purpose. We think we’ve saved money but in reality, we’ve been spending cash mindlessly and throwing it away for clothes that won’t even last us for more than a month. Often, sustainable clothing is criticized for the hefty price tag without the consumer realizing the concept of “cost per wear.” Sustainable clothes do not follow trends and are encouraged to be worn until tear. They are not made of fabric that will be destroyed after one wash. You’ll be motivated to wear it more, considering the price you paid for it. You end up maximizing the purchase and it becomes a permanent item in your wardrobe. 

What is Upcycling?

What is Upcycling?

One way to breathe new life into clothes is through upcycling. The Economic Times defines upcycling as using discarded or vintage pieces of clothing and transforming them into something better. It’s different from recycling because it doesn’t need the material to be broken down before it can be repurposed. This means the upcycling process doesn’t cause any damage to the environment nor does it make use of other natural resources to exploit. 

One example of upcycling is transforming an old pair of denim pants into a shoulder bag. The rest of the fabric can be used as cool patches for a jacket. There is really no one way to upcycle and the final product depends on how creative you are. 

Why upcycle

Why Upcycle? 

It adds years to the lifespan of a clothing item, meaning it would have fewer chances of ending up in a landfill already full of discarded clothes. With a movement of people turning to upcycling, it collectively leads to reducing fashion’s polluting contribution to the world every year. 

Upcycling also helps consumers save money by not needing to buy new clothes to have new clothes. They just need to revamp what they already have in their closets! Plus there won’t be any risk of running into someone with the same clothes because there’s no other person in the world with exactly the same clothes as you’ll have. For momentous sake, upcycling can preserve a hand-me-down from your grandma or mother. 

Aside from that, it can also be a fun exercise of the creative muscle through a personal craft activity or one shared with family and friends. 

ES9W

The Perfect Sewing Table 

This is what Flexispot had in mind when it was creating the ES9W sewing standing desk. Using its height programmable control panel, it’s easy to adjust the height of the table that would accommodate the height of a child, a middle-aged adult, and a senior. You may set the height according to what’s comfortable for each seamstress in the family. It’ll be easier to teach children how to sew when it’s at a lower level than they could reach. The sewing table will definitely capture their attention and make them want to learn how to sew. 

What’s great with the ES9W is that the sewing platform may be adjusted separately. It comes with a knob that allows the user to lower or raise the workbench up or down five steps. Its weight capacity is up to 26 lbs, just enough to carry the weight of an average electric sewing machine. 

The workspace is also very spacious because aside from the sewing machine platform, you may add a detachable side table that measures 9” * 24,” adding to the already 43”*24” table where the sewing platform is attached. 

You also don’t need to worry about scratching or staining the desk frame because it’s made of high-grade steel. It’s guaranteed stable even at the highest adjustment point and because of its two-state legs, smooth and fluid-like transitions can be expected throughout the day. 

https://flexispot.au/height-adjustable-desks/height-adjustable-sewing-table

Final Thoughts 

Upcycling has long been a practice, even before sustainability became a buzzword. All one needs to learn is how to sew and be creative with discarded fabric or a neglected clothing piece. It’s a cycle that never ends and of which value only goes up each time it’s reworked.