Small business owners upcycle to prevent textile waste

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — According to the Environmental Protection Agency, too much clothing is winding up in landfills. The agency estimates the average American throws away roughly 100 pounds of clothing per year. Local small business owners are now doing their part to give old textiles new life, thanks to upcycling.

Mayfly owner, Alex DiMauro, transforms and sells her upcycled creations in a Harvard Square shop in Cambridge. It’s in a building that was upcycled itself, from a garage.

“There’s so much abundance of material in the world that like we don’t necessarily need to be making new products anymore,” DiMauro said.

Mayfly uses donated or thrifted clothes, including tablecloths and factory discards. DiMauro is able to turn them into unique pieces, like tomato sweaters.

“I actually started making these because I had a sweater that had a stain right on the front of the shirt. So I was like, ‘Oh, I got to fix that.’”

Mayfly sells items from 16 different artists who upcycle.

“I just asked like a bunch of different designers that I knew if they wanted to be in the shop,” DiMauro said. “And then some people have come in and like been like, ‘I do upcycled clothing. Can I sell it here?’”

In 2022, Massachusetts banned textiles from disposal, including footwear, clothing, and scraps of all sizes that are clean and dry. Since people can’t throw clothes in the trash, they can donate them. Helpsy has bins all across the state for people to put their unwanted items. They’re sorted at a facility in Woburn.

“A good chunk of those clothes are going to find another happy owner. Presumably, that person is going to buy fewer new clothes, which is really from an environmental perspective what we are trying to accomplish,” said Dan Green, CEO of Helpsy.

Clothes that can’t be used by other people are still put to good use. They are turned into wiper rags or they serve other purposes.

“The least valuable chunk, which ends up being 20 percent of the total, is insulation and carpet padding, commercial furniture padding, that kind of thing,” said Green.

The Helpsy CEO says people shouldn’t second guess donating.

‘We try to discourage people from thinking too hard about it. Just give your clothes to Helpsy, to a thrift store, whatever. Don’t worry about sorting them out,” Green said. “Just do the right thing and don’t put them in the trash.”

Shoppers say they realize the importance of upcycling and thrifting.

“I don’t like fast fashion, because I feel like it’s not very good for the environment. And I also feel like you’re just getting clothes that like everybody’s going to wear. It’s like super mass produced,” said Tatyana Sajovic of Cambridge.

“I think you find the most unique things when you’re shopping secondhand,” said shopper Diamante Gruosi.

Back at Mayfly, DiMauro says it’s fulfilling to see people wearing her creations.

“It’s just kind of exciting to see it in the wild is what I say. But yeah, it brings me a lot of joy.”

DiMauro understands the bigger impact upcycling is having right now.

“We’re just trying to like keep as much garment and textile waste out of the landfill,” she said.

Mayfly also offers monthly dye bar events, so people can give old clothes new life with a color change. They also have alteration and mending services to patch jeans or hem pants.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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