Urban Outfitters' Urban Renewal

Mary Nagle - Contributing Writer
Posted on Thursday 4th June 2009

One man’s faux pas is another man’s fashion.

Before you throw away your grunge-era flannel shirt, consider this: each year one company creates seasonal collections of apparel and accessories, all made from the likes of flannel shirts and other old trends.

Urban Renewal, available at Urban Outfitters, produces a line of fashion made from the material of old or outdated clothing. Outdated styles such as shoulder pad jackets and Levi’s denim are cut, rewashed, and dyed to create new products that are much more current and much less embarrassing to wear. Earrings are made from old leather jackets and dresses are made from old bed sheets.

Originally a line of “nerd” Halloween costumes in the 1980s, Urban Renewal is now a collection of fashion made from hand-picked vintage items. “We’ve been quietly touting the “green” thing … for 20 years,” says Dayna Haley, Urban Renewal manager.

In addition to using recycled materials, Urban Renewal clothing is produced locally in Philadelphia. One warehouse contains their design studio, vintage archives, and production floor, where each item of their seasonal 60-piece collections is hand-made. The local production, as well as the use of people to produce the clothes instead of machinery, results in far fewer carbon emissions than the mechanical production and transportation of clothing produced abroad.

So, if you are looking for a unique, green look for the summer or any season, check out the Urban Renewal collection at any Urban Outfitters store .

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