Upcycling FAQ
On a very basic level, this means Numo will make useful products using material you send us. We can reuse materials that were formerly used for advertising or promotions. Send us your used billboards, banners, trade show signage, tablecloths, flags, t-shirts, uniforms, etc., and we’ll repurpose the material to make other useful objects like tote bags or pouches. This is much more efficient and less wasteful than recycling, as we are simply cutting the material apart and sewing it into new products. Upcycling is a great way to keep materials out of landfills.
We can use nearly any material that can be cut and sewn. Typical sources are:
- Billboards
- Banners
- Tablecloths
- Trade Show Signage or Backdrops
- Flags
- T-shirts or Uniforms
- Upholstery, Drapes, Curtains, etc.
No. We can combine types of products to either fit your needs, or just to be able to use up the most material we can with the least waste. This may result in some combination of tote bags and a couple different styles of pouches all coming from one big piece of material. We can even make smaller items like coin pouches or key fobs from the scraps to use up as much of the material as possible. We’ll work with you on a feasibility plan once we know what type of material(s) you have and the type of product(s) you want to be made.
We have plenty of stock silhouettes we can use, but if you have some custom needs for a bag or pouch with specific dimensions, we’ll be glad to see what we can do. Going with a custom-sized item may lengthen the lead time a bit.
We have a huge assortment of hardware and add-ons available for use on upcycled products. We have several styles of zippers (some available in 23 colors!), options for webbing for handles or loops, snaps, buckles, adjusters, hook & loop (Velcro), keyrings, and more. In some cases, we may be able to use your material to make the handles, straps, or loops.
We have a huge assortment of hardware and add-ons available for use on upcycled products. We have several styles of zippers (some available in 23 colors!), options for webbing for handles or loops, snaps, buckles, adjusters, hook & loop (Velcro), keyrings, and more. In some cases, we may be able to use your material to make the handles, straps, or loops.
In most cases, yes. Of course it can depend on what materials you’re putting together. We can make part of the product from the reused material(s), and the rest of it from new or recycled materials. We carry inventory of many types of materials:
- Canvas (three weights)
- Ripstop Nylon (two styles)
- 4CP Poly
- Vinyls
- Tarpaulin
- Vegan Leather
- Corduroy
- Neoprene (limited compatibility when combining with other materials)
- And more…
There are all sorts of possibilities for this. We will discuss with you the specifics of your project in the feasibility phase.
- Standard with your branding + an explanation of the upcycled material’s origin are included. We also have a deluxe hangtag available for an extra fee. (Click here to see our hangtag options.) If you need something more custom, we can work with you to develop bellybands, stickers, or some other point-of-purchase style add-on that would be removed by end recipients.*
- We can print on most materials, even if they have existing printing/decoration on them (like a banner, billboard, or t-shirt). Depending on the substrate, this might be direct digital print or screen printing.
- If your material only has printing on one side, we can put the printed side of the banner/billboard material on the inside of the bag or pouch. Then we can decorate the outside with your branding.
- We can add a seam label*.
- We can add a sewn-on patch*.
- You might be able to simply use the existing printing/decoration of the material as the branding. This would definitely depend on the scale of the printing compared to the size of the products we’ll be making for you.
- We can use some of our stock material as a panel of the product, and print on that.
*We will need additional lead time to get these parts quoted. This may also increase lead time in production. Seam labels will require 0.25” seam allowance.
Ideally, we’ll use as much of your material as possible to make as many useful things as possible, minimizing the scrap. The reality is that there will likely be some scrap left over that will need to be disposed of properly.
Of course, this will depend on how much material you have. (How big is your banner, billboard, tablecloth, etc.?) Are there any blemishes or hardware we would need to work around? Also which type of product you need. You can get a lot more small pouches than large tote bags out of the same piece of material. We will work with you to get an estimate of yield in the feasibility phase of your project, with a number of committed deliverables before we get too far into the process.
The project assessment & feasibility phase typically takes 3-5 business days. The engineering phase will depend on the complexity of the project, and whether or not you’re going with one of our stock silhouettes, or something more custom. This phase can be 2-10 days. Production will typically be 10-15 days. Budget 20-25 working days for the entire process.
Simply fill out this worksheet, and we’ll get the conversation started.