Hong Kong based upcycling brand, Lastbutnotleast, is stepping up to the plate to take a swing against mass production, inferior quality, and unethical working conditions with their inventive upcycled clothing ideas.

Today it’s almost too easy to go to a chain retail store and find an article of clothing for super cheap. You can find an item such as a shirt for as little as five or ten dollars. Fast fashion is an obscene epidemic the industry and more upcycled clothing ideas like Lastbutnotleast are changing the way we view fashion.

The dedicated enthusiast behind this movement is fashion designer, Toby Lam, who has observed the fashion industry first hand with all of its skeletons hiding in the closet. Lam’s dream of a happy marriage between style and sustainability became a reality in 2013 with Lastbutnotleast. The purpose of Lastbutnotleast is to not only present fun, new upcycled clothing ideas, but to also raise awareness of how dangerous fast fashion is to us and our environment and shed light on the unfortunate practices in the industry. There must be a better way to handle clothing that’s either old, no longer a trend, or damaged, and Lastbutnotleast is showing us how.

Clothing items that no longer serve a current purpose can be sent to Lastbutnotleast with the person’s new and refreshed idea for the garment. Lastbutnotleast will offer design sources and then go through the brainstorming process. With a deposit, a sketch of the new look is made and once the client gives consent, alterations can begin. Then VOILA! Just like that, you have a top that was formerly a pair of pants!

Lastbutnotleast’s upcycled clothing ideas are always unconventional and uncommon, in the coolest ways of course. It can take anything and transform it into something completely unfathomable. Shirts become pants, pants become a dress, you name it and it can be done just like magic. No fabric or material is ever wasted either. Any leftover scraps are constructed into added details on a garment.

Bringing the attention back to the concept of fast fashion for a moment, mass produced items that come at a cost of enslaving human beings, torturing our animal friends, and trashing our planet is outright inconceivable and unacceptable. Is there really even a point to buying a $9.99 top that will be worn once and then tossed in the garbage to sit in a landfill for years? Is it okay to force someone against their will to stitch labels for over half the day with just a few coins as compensation? Why are beautiful, innocent animals being abused or killed for human vanity? Think about it.

Through the efforts of Lastbutnotleast, we are given an opportunity to start turning things around for our earth and our future while supporting a small business. We need to start considering the fact that if we don’t stand up for the sustainability of our world, we will exist in a very dim factory-like environment. Lastbutnotleast has come to us at the perfect time to help us protect our surroundings, our animals, and our people.

Related on EcoSalon

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Image via Lastbutnotleast

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The Happy Chair: a fortunate collision between NASCAR and design.

EcoSalon’s demographic doesn’t necessarily veer towards the NASCAR market, but Shawna Robinson’s line of salvaged furniture, Happy Chairs, could change all that. It’s what Shawna does after all: breaking barriers, taking risks, screechingly putting a halt to “the conventional” and so-called norm.

In 2002, the single mom raced in the Daytona 500 and came in 24^th place. In its 50-year history, there have only been three women to race the Daytona 500: Janet Guthrie in 1977 and 1980 (finishing in 12^th and 11^th place respectively), and today’s glamorous trailblazer Danica Patrick, who finished 38^th this past February, a full decade after Robinson competed.

Before that, she was named Rookie Driver of The Year in The Great American Truck Racing Series (GATR). When she raced in the Goody’s Dash Series (we had to look it up, too) she became the first woman driver to qualify first (pole position) for a race, later winning Rookie of The Year and Most Popular Driver of the Year. There was the Busch Series (now Nationwide Series) and the ARCA Series.

And now, a series of very cool chairs made from old, salvaged and weathered pieces of furniture. Armchairs that would have otherwise been retired, kicked to the curb, disqualified on the back marker. Armchairs that are now back in groove, coasting through the victory lane.

“I love big, bold, crazy color. I love art. I love animals and as is evident from my past as a NASCAR race car driver, I love the thrill of taking risks,” she states on her website.

Her one of a kind pieces, built in her Charlotte, North Carolina studio, are available for purchase via her website. Customization upon request.

Images: Happy Chairs; Happy Chairs/Flickr

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