Up-fuse makes beautiful one of a kind bags and accessories upcycled from waste materials. This women owned brand works with local NGOs in Egypt to source waste materials from old tires, plastic bags, and plastic bottles, and upcycle those materials into durable stylish products people love. Up-fuse sources pretty much everything locally in Egypt, and in the process is not only a sustainable brand, but one that gives back to and enriches its community.
Up-fuse
Up-fuse makes beautiful one of a kind bags and accessories upcycled from waste materials. This women owned brand works with local NGOs in Egypt to source waste materials from old tires, plastic bags, and plastic bottles, and upcycle those materials into durable stylish products people love. Up-fuse sources pretty much everything locally in Egypt, and in the process is not only a sustainable brand, but one that gives back to and enriches its community.
Transparency
- Up-fuse has great supply chain traceability, with 80% in-house production.
- They share on their website where their products are made in Egypt, the number of jobs created, the NGOs they collaborate with to make their products, and the waste materials they source to upcycle into their products.
- Up-fuse engages a wide array of workers, from garbage collectors, artisans, to designers and sewers, as part of their local production.
- Local sourcing and production means that Up-fuse maintains a short and tightly-knit supply chain which helps reduce their carbon footprint.
Fair Labor
- Up-fuse has done much to support local artisans as well as made tangible efforts to support the refugee population in and around Cairo, providing them training, employment opportunities, as well as a shot at entrepreneurship.
- Up-fuse claims to pay a living wage to its workers though more transparency on this would be helpful.
- Up-fuse could adopt a Code of Conduct and undertake to get third-party audits done to verify working conditions in their factories.
Sustainably Made
- Up-fuse has developed techniques to upcycle different kinds of materials, transforming them into sustainable fashion bags and accessories, clothing, and footwear.
- All of the materials used by Up-fuse in their products are a result of upcycling waste such as plastic bags, tires, etc.
- To increase their score, Up-fuse could share information about their carbon emissions and water usage in their supply chain.
