Abstract

Concern about the over-use of irreplaceable resources increases as the global population increases. A global divide between and within societies results in many communities living in extreme poverty. These communities are consequently forced to create many wares from waste materials, broken, and abandoned objects. Where survival needs predominate, basic objects are being produced from the waste of others. The need to create items from waste is setting an unexpected and ingenious example to more prosperous societies and one can see the emergence of a global community of designers and other enthusiastic advocates who point to the significance of such vernacular innovation. The development and increasing visibility of a generation of designers that is embracing the need to upcycle is addressed here. The aim is to demonstrate how ingenuity, circumstance, and the guiding hand of design can work together to change perceptions of the value of both materials and making practices.