Reflection on Week 2

In this past week alone, I have learned more about sustainability than ever before. I learned about upcycling and downcycling, how downcycling is basically a different word for recycling and still beneficial to all humankind, but does not give back or “feed” the environment, which is why upcycling is highly recommended in new sustainable practices. I also learned about the process involving pesticides on animals, which leads to pesticides being on the foods that we eat. This made me very uncomfortable and a little uneasy, and led me to finding ways around consuming these pesticides when buying foods. I also enjoyed learning about technical metabolism from the reading of C2C. The most important thing I learned this week was about upcycling, this was also my favorite. Upcycling can be described as a recycled new product that is worth as much or more than the original product. I enjoyed learning about the new sustainable ways upcycling is being used in the apparel industry and how it can be practiced by consumers from home. To me upcycling is very useful and relevant to my lifestyle because so many things I can do with this new practice straight from home like building a TV stand out of large wooden totes that’s been in my mom’s garage for years by just painting them neutral colors, or by sewing old scarves together that I do not want anymore and making them into an intriguing couch cover. What I learned this past week will prepare me in the future for whatever company I work for. And now, not only will I be looking to work for a company that has shown growth in sales and number of new store openings, but now I will also be looking for a company that shows sustainability through their practices within their organization. Now that I have learned why companies are Going Green and their wonderful reasons why everyone should, I would like to learn more about the reasons why many companies are refusing to go along with sustainable practices in their companies.