A Cinderella Story: Upcycling and Past Identify
A leaky boat turns into a table. An old mosquito net transforms into a laptop sleeve. An old t-shirt become a grocery bag. Upcycling takes the old or dysfunctional and repurposes them into new and desirable products. The explosion of upcycled products on store fronts such as Etsy speak to consumer demand for these products, with established companies such as Patagonia, ASOS and Urban Outfitters experimenting with upcycled product lines.
Past research has highlighted the inherent sustainability of upcycling through the reuse and reclamation of old waste products and offer ‘consumer demand’ for such products to explain the growing trend. However, unlike recycling, in which old materials are broken down into raw materials, upcycling involves the repurposing of an old product, leaving partially intact, connected to its past identify. Because of this, an upcycled product has a much more noticeable past identity than a recycled product, presenting both the form and functionality of the source product and the present identity of the new upcycled one.
This transformation, and the connection with the source product’s identity, gives the upcycled product a richer narrative than a recycled product, inviting consumers to think about the product’s biography and build a deeper connection to the item.
As any good marketer will tell you, nothing sells better than a story, and like Cinderella an upcycled product is an inherent tale of transformation. However, whether this narrative identity can explain the growing upcycling trend is unclear, with no research exploring the role of narrative or identity. Indeed, past research suggests that many customers are sceptical about purchasing used goods, and so highlighting the past identity of the product may remind consumers they are not the first to interact with the product, undermining demand.
This research seeks to explore this relationship, to determine what impact how noticeable an upcycled product’s past identity has on consumer demand and better inform the promotion of these goods.
Method
This research explores the impact of narrative and identity across seven studies. These studies include a Facebook campaign, in which click rate and likes were measured to explore differences in response to upcycled products when their past identity was highlighted. Study two included data from a pop-up retail upcycling store, in which upcycled products could be presented with highlighted past identity or not.
Several online surveys (Studies 3, 4 and 6) were then run to explore why consumers reacted to these upcycled products in the way they did, collecting data on narrative thoughts, personification of the objects, sustainability motivations and personal connection to the products. These studies also compared consumer responses to recycled goods, in which the past identity of the product was not visually obvious.
Finally, an experiment on university volunteers (Study 5) was run to explore if how visually obvious the upcycled products past identity was impacted on consumer decision making, with participants shown a vase made from an obviously discernible light bulb and a vase made from a less discernible electric insulator.
Key findings
1. Consumers express a greater preference for upcycled products when the item’s past identity is highlighted in promotions. This was observed in both greater clickthrough rates, likes and sales via the pop-up store (which quadrupled).
2. This held true regardless of the sales context, the category of the finished upscaled good or the past identity of the product.
3. However, when the upcycled product told their story at a glance (due to the obviousness of the past identity of the product) they did not receive a boost in demand from further promotion of their past identity.
4. These products did however benefit from visual tweaks that made the past identity clearer, and the narrative story of how they became the upcycled product easier to follow. For example, featuring the past identity first and more prominently than the resulting product.
5. Recycled goods, which have a past identity that is difficult to perceive visually, greatly benefited from promotions that highlighted their past identity.
6. The importance of narrative and the past identity of an upcycled product draws attention to the products unique story of metamorphosis, which results in the customer feeling that they are more unique and special themselves for their connection to the item.
Recommendations
This research shows that consumers prefer upcycled and recycled goods that tell a story, increasing their purchase of these products when the past identity and transformation of the good is highlighted. This seems to be driven by the personal connection that consumers feel for these products, interpreting the process of reclamation as a unique story of metamorphosis and their ownership of such products as a statement of their own uniqueness.
This suggests that the promotion of upcycled and recycled goods should focus on the narrative elements of their transformation. Highlighting how unique the process makes each product, and the transformative journey that the original components of the product have passed through. This is particularly important for recycled goods, as they lack the visual elements that would allow consumers to see this narrative at a glance.
This research also highlights that the ‘storytelling’ of an upcycled product’s transformation can also be accomplished through the product itself, rather than just its promotion. When the upcycled product’s past identity is more visually distinct consumers resonate with the item more, suggesting that upcycled products should be designed to showcase elements of their past identity through deliberately leaving aspects unaltered and intact.
When visual storytelling is accomplished in this way through the product itself, it may become unnecessary to further support this narrative with promotional aspects, with this research showing little benefit to visually distinct upcycled products.
While past research has been hesitant to suggest highlighting the past identity of a reclaimed product for fear of triggering consumer rejection of the old and discarded, this research highlights that such products provide a strong and authentic narrative connection that consumers crave. Indeed, the specific past of the original item did not seem to matter, with consumers reacting similarly positively to transformed fashion items as they did to transformed junk.
By highlighting this narrative, and the unique transformative journey these products have been though, recycled and upcycled products have the ability to connect to consumers through the enduring power of storytelling.
Researcher
More information
The research article is also available on eprints.