How We Upcycle The Billboards You See On The Highway

For years we have had turned trash into treasure. We have recycled some of the largest billboards you can find into backpacks, wallets, duffle bags, and accessories. From the start we needed some good materials that would make our bags sturdy and eye catching. We already had canvas made from upcycled plastic bottles but we knew it needed something else. 

We used the banners as a reference to make the bags but it came out so well we knew the product was complete. From there we put the effort into making more bags for our collection.

On The Journey from Highway to Handbag

The first step involves deciding on what product we will be making. This is usually a brainstorming session that can last a matter of hours or longer depending on the number of decision makers we have around the table. 

Collection. It is in our name that we collect and proceed to clean the signs that we find. We will look into the types of vinyl first to determine if it is a good fit for a project. Lighter vinyl can be problematic. Heavy vinyl is best for durability and sturdiness

Design. We will design the bags based on the vision for the final product. We have found that there are two main types of vinyl to be used. We can ues bright pop colors or muted tones. There are customers that are excited about both. It is a matter of preference.

Cut and sew. We will put the patterns together just like a normal bag but instead of using virgin materials we specialize in all upcycled materials. We then use these patterns to customize each bag to the customer’s specification.

Sustainability. If we can consume all the billboard for the orders we will use this as a way to create circularity from the client’s purchase of branded product all the way through to their advertising vinyl. If they have additional vinyl we will ask them how they want to proceed with the overages. We can use these for our collections.

In summary, there are some great thing that can be done with billboards. We choose to make bags with it. We like upcycling billboards because it is a great way to get the materials turned into products and then promote the message of the circular economy. If you know someone who has billboards and would like to get them upcycled give us a shout at info@hamiltonperkins.com.