Mariko Ichikawa

Mariko Ichikawa uses Upcycling to address the mounting problem of textile waste in the fashion industry and by cleaning gently used kimonos and re-sewing them into one-of-a-kind designs, we extend the usable life of traditional Japanese kimono textiles.

The global fashion industry creates more greenhouse emissions than international flights and shipping combined and is projected to consume a quarter of the world's annual carbon output by 2050. However, fashion’s growing interest in recycling clothing is one way to help manage the inherent waste involved in the production of clothing.

Upcycling is reusing discarded objects or materials to create a product of higher quality than the original.

We pay to have our scraps collected through Fabscrap, a 501(c)3 charity that helps New York based designers dispose of their commercial textile waste into recycle and reuse initiatives.