• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.216-226
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• 2015

This study identifies factors of perceived risk of up-cycling fashion products and investigates perceived risk factors that influence consumers' trust, purchase intention, and recommendation intention towards upcycling fashion products. We also examine the relationship of trust, purchase intention, and recommendation intention for upcycling fashion products. A qualitative research method using a free narrative form and depth interview were used. The perceived risk from up-cycling fashion products generated 5 factor solutions: aesthetic risk, sanitary risk, social risk, performance risk, and economic risk. Next, 201 effective data were collected from a questionnaire survey and analyzed with SPSS 22.0. The results are summarized as follows. First, aesthetic risk and performance risk had a negative effect on products. Second, aesthetic risk and performance risk had negative influence on purchase intention for upcycling fashion products. Third, performance risk had a negative impact on recommendation intention for upcycling fashion products. Fourth, trust had positive effect on purchase intention and recommendation intention for upcycling fashion products. The results of the current study provides various theoretical and practical implications for marketers and retailers interested in up-cycling fashion products.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.486-502
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• 2018

Mass-production caused by industrialization has led to environmental pollution; however, a potential solution to this problem is the Up-cycling fashion design belonging to the sustainable design category. This study analyzed the material characteristics of each brand fashion product by selecting 21 domestic Up-cycling fashion brands. The product types manufactured by domestic Up-cycling fashion brands could be divided into fashion clothing, bag, and fashion accessories. The materials used for each item included special material, waste fiber, waste leather, waste paper, and others. In the results of analyzing the material characteristics into the external characteristics and internal characteristics, the external characteristics included the durability with less abrasiveness and deformation as well as a mixture with other different materials, while the internal characteristics included a story arousing consumers' empathy, and scarcity without the same design due to the limitation of material.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.374-387
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to develop up-cycling fashion design methods centered on discarded denim material for the study of original up-cycling design methods. Up-cycling fashion design work was developed using digital clothing technology. This is a recent hot topic among sustainable fashion design methods. Up-cycling fashion design expression methods (categorized as dismantlement, collages, dépaysement, grafting, weaving, and tearing) were centered on design methods. These methods create various three-dimensional modeling effects in planar forms, whereby five pieces can be applied to the fabric and digitally produced. The results are as follows: First, the use of discarded denim fabric for the development of up-cycling fashion design pieces enabled the recycling of existing resources, provided solutions to environmental pollution problems, and provided expansion opportunities for design processes for sustainable fashion products that expand the design value of denim products and their utility. Second, new eco-friendly fashion designs that attempt to achieve diversity in modern fashion trends could be presented through formative contemporary fashion produced by up-cycling work products. Third, up-cycling fashion design work is expected to provide opportunities for eco-friendly fashion design methods. This will expand the value of sustainable fashion design by recycling simple waste materials through the use of three-dimensional digital clothing technology and further through the presentation of expanded life cycles that extend product planning, production, and life cycles.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.95-111
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• 2019

This study is the 2nd report following "A Study on the Characteristics of Material in the Korean Up-cycling Fashion Brands (Part I)" that handled the development of upcycling props using the characteristics of upcycling material. The 2nd report analyzed product types and materials focusing on 21 foreign upcycling fashion brands. It analyzed the characteristics of upcycling fashion materials using the case analysis of coffee bean bag and waste denim based on external characteristics and internal characteristics. We then classified the external characteristics into environment/economic feasibility and availability/mixture and the internal characteristics into historicality/story and originality/scarcity. Five bags were designed and produced for the actual commercialization of fashion products based on such characteristics of materials, with the use of coffee bean bags and waste denim as upcycling materials. This study is differentiated from existing research by its suggestions for the utilization of fashion product upcycling coffee bean bags and waste denim. Also, upcycling fashion products could be competitive products in eco-friendliness and originality that can be a driving force for the sustainable development of fashion industry through the differentiation of existing fashion products.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.65 no.1
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• pp.76-88
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• 2015

Excessive spending and the ever-changing fashion trends lead to an increase in material production to meet consumers' needs, which also in turn, increase the amount of industrial waste and many harmful pollutants. To address this problem, this study aimed to utilize discarded jeans' parts, reconstructing them into edgy and functional designs for everyday products. Six pairs of discarded jeans were collected and were used to create six types of functional products -three types of baskets, a bag, a slipper, and a key-holder. The benefits of up-cycling outweigh recycling because it not only increases the recycling rate, but also decreases the amount of energy and cost, thereby increasing the efficiency in recreating new innovative products. These proposed up-cycling ideas will serve as a great alternative for consumers to actively participate in reducing carbon emission, water usage, and waste to landfill by utilizing used clothing. This will guide how consumers can extend the life of their used clothing, utilize recyclable items more thoroughly, and keep used clothing out of landfills.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.127-139
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• 2019

Up-cycling has evolved from its original form of the simple recycling of waste, into an industry of its own that has been gaining momentum. In many developed industries, up-cycling is increasingly seen as an 'environmentally-friendly way of production and ethical way of consumption'. However, an examination of the designs of branded up-cycled products suggests that there is a need for product development fueled by further research on materials. The purpose of this study is to introduce various production methods that can overcome the shortcomings of using waste material and Korean motifs for use in product development, which ultimately contribute to enhancing the potential variety and character of up-cycled products. In order to do so, the up-cycling industry was examined to define key concepts, domestic and overseas markets were surveyed, and case analyses were conducted on domestic and foreign up-cycling brands. In addition, after tracking how leather is discarded and accumulated as waste and then collecting the discarded leather, the properties of the material were analyzed. A study of Korean motifs was followed by the concept summary, and upcycling design expressions that exemplify Korean images were identified. The following two novel methods were used to create six up-cycled bags using collected discarded leather. First, lucky bags and moon pots were selected from various Korean motifs in order to use motifs with identifiable features. Secondly, different variations of cutting and attachment methods were used, including iron mold production methods and presses.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.899-918
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• 2018

Upcycling is the process of repurposing abandoned resources or useless products into products of better quality or higher environmental value. Upcycling products are evaluated to be sustainable because they demonstrate environmental values. However, domestic upcycling companies are operating on a small scale with a slow growth rate. This study aims to examine the value and risk factors of upcycling products from previous literature and clarify the effect of these ambivalent characteristics on purchase intention. This provides direction regarding factors upcycling companies should focus on. The data were collected via an online experiment with women in their 20s and 30s residing in South Korea, nationwide. The data were statistically analyzed using SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 18.0. Analysis of this data suggests that environmental, design, and self-expression value positively affect purchase intention. This extends previous upcycling literature by identifying design and self-expression value as important antecedents of purchase intention. However, in contrast to previous literature, no significant effect of performance or diversity risk was found. These results indicate that ethical attitude has a moderating effect on the relationship between environmental value and purchase intention. This study confirms that consumers intend to purchase upcycling products when they possess not only environmental value but also design and self-expression value.