Sadly many of the old industrial centers of the United States are now just crumbling ruins – but Detroit Cargo is preserving the past with some upcycled products including a new card holder made from very old fire houses.
As Detroit Cargo noted, these fire hoses have not been up to code since the 1960’s and only in Detroit can you find buildings that have been abandoned long enough to find these old hoses. They’ve salvaged them, clean them and sew a leather strip to the bottom. They’ve created card holders that can carry ID, credit cards, business cards and more. These are cycle friendly as the card holder fit in the products.
And just like America’s industrial past this product won’t last forever. Detroit Cargo expects to run out of hose later this year, so grab them while you can.
From swords to plowshares used to be the old saying, but in the 21st century it could be from billboards to bags. We reported back in 
Protecting the environment and finding new uses for old things shouldn’t be rare, it should be commonplace and that’s just what Rareform Surfboard Bags are looking to do. 
The buzz word for 2013 could very well be “upcycling,” a term we first heard last year. Instead of scrapping old materials to make new, upcycling efforts build new products with the old and save the process of using energy to recreate a fresh material.
Last week we reported about a new start up in Los Angeles called Rareform, which turns old vinyl from billboards into surfboard bags. Perhaps Mat Dusting of Kingston St. Mary should give them a call as he’s started his own venture, where he takes discarded truck tarpaulins and makes rucksacks and holdalls for ski boots and skis. Dusting is even taking upcycled – the dujour term for recycled – seat beats to create the straps. He recently showed off his products at the British National Ski and Snowboard Show.
They blend into the landscape and even if we notice them, many think they’re eyesores. We’re talking about billboards. But here is something most of us never think about: what happens to the materials after the ad campaign is over? What becomes of the billboard?