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Hardcore Recycled Accessories collects recyclable clothing materials and uses them to create new items like patches, earrings and other embroidered materials. By recycling old clothing, the business, contributes to clean life on land, responsible consumption and production and climate action. Recycling the clothing that goes to landfills means that the company is contributing positively to ensuring better life on land and responsible consumption and production.
The purpose of this innovation is to contribute to reusing some of the waste that goes to landfills, for example old clothes, and remaking them into earrings, patches, face masks and many other products. The owner decided to pursue this innovation to help Canadians reduce waste from their closets and emphasize the importance of textile recycling and sustainable consumption. By facilitating the recycling of clothing, Katelyn diverts textile waste from landfills and encourages more sustainable clothing practices. All items are designed, embroidered, and shipped out in low waste eco-friendly packaging personally by Katelyn. The UN sustainable development goals closest to her heart are life on land, and responsible production and consumption. When asked about the impact she hopes to make, Katelyn stated, “I hope people can be inspired by my brand and think about how much waste comes from their closet". Diverting some of the waste that goes to landfills ensures responsible production and consumption and
Katelyn Dickey was first inspired by an Instagram seller (@holyrollervinatge) that sold vintage clothes through Instagram. After meeting with them and learning more, she was moved to start her own store. She has always loved sewing and jewelry making and Hardcore Recycled has allowed her to turn that passion into a thriving business. The positive support she received from customers encouraged her to keep growing and expand her vision for what her store could be. When asked about what motivates her to keep going, she said, “When people tell me, they love my product it's more emotional than I have words for. To have a lot of passion for why I’m doing it and have people acknowledge that they also like the reasons why feels very gratifying”. Katelyn regularly uses Instagram to inspire her audience to be more sustainable and spread the word about important topics. As she moves forward, she hopes to prove to businesses that it is possible to do business with low waste and a low environmental footprint.
The innovation uses an embroidery machine to create the new materials which contributes towards the UN sustainable goals. This innovation benefits the environment because of the textile waste that has been diverted from adding to waste at landfills. The innovation also focuses on more building personal relationships with customers through personalized items. According to the owner, this innovation “addresses the social and environmental impacts of fast fashion and the labor impacts.” The owner has not collected enough evidence yet on how the innovation has impacted the environment because the company was just started recently but hopes to do so soon.
Hardcore Recycled Accessories has a business system that efficiently maximizes resources. The products they sell are recreated accessories made of old clothing materials. These remade accessories contain a variety of social messages. Many of their products, including patches and earrings, have a more affordable price compared to other big brand accessories. This reasonable price point is possible because they save a large part of the cost of buying new fabric by repurposing old fabric. According to ‘Hardcore Recycled Accessories’ founder Katelyn, the cost of second-hand fabric is much lower than getting fabric from a fabric store. Through this production process, they can create environmentally friendly products while making good profit. The social message of Hardcore Recycled Accessories’ products is also a huge reason why people are drawn to their products. Hardcore Recycled Accessories provides products to consumers by combining various social messages. They launched the #BLM patches product line in 2020, emphasizing social messages and providing a new donation platform. Patches also allow consumers to express their thoughts through customization. The products that share these important social messages attracts many customers.
Hardcore Recycled Accessories is focused on making a positive impact on society and the environment. With regards to the UN’s sustainable development goals, she is mainly committed to contributing to life on land, and responsible production and consumption. She hopes her company is contributing positively to reducing waste, recycling, and reusing more.” Her customers enjoy the aesthetics of her products, as well as the low waste and environmentally friendly packaging she uses. She has put a lot of effort into making all her bags recyclable. Katelyn has also introduced a community-sourcing exchange program where customers can exchange their old t-shirts for gift cards that can be used at her store. This is a great program that benefits consumers as well as the environment by rewarding customers for eliminating textile waste. Fast fashion is one of the most prominent industries contributing to waste in the environment and Katelyn wants people to understand how scary the physical waste that is created by the fashion industry and current consumer cycles really is. Hardcore Recycled Accessories is a great company that is doing their part to spread the word about the importance of eliminating this waste and creating a more sustainable future for fashion.
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Katelyn Dickey, Owner
Hardcore Recycled Accessories is a socially responsible business that is dedicated to helping Canadians reduce waste from their closets. Hardcore Recycled was created by Katelyn Dickey. Katelyn uses old clothing, remaking them into fashionable patches and accessories.