Snoqualmie Start-up Launches E-Commerce Marketplace for Repurposed Goods

SEATTLE — July 1, 2015 — UpcyclePost (http://upcyclepost.com), a social sharing site for all things upcycled, announced today the launch of its consumer marketplace. The launch marks the first-ever online marketplace consisting exclusively of items made by artisans and craftspeople using upcycled, recycled, repurposed, and reused materials. Upcycling saves thousands of tons of waste from going to overcrowded landfills. The new marketplace will serve as a tool for artisans, providing both the community and inspiration needed for successful upcycling, as well as the direct connection to consumers aware of the need for sustainability.

Company founder and Vice President of Business Development Mark Howe started the vision for UpcyclePost over four years ago. “Our goal is to unite and strengthen the upcycling industry,” he said. “In doing so, we are encouraging people to reconsider their existing consumption habits, inspiring the reuse of possessions, and reducing the amount of waste going to landfills.”

UpcyclePost launched as the first social sharing photo gallery of repurposed goods in the fall of 2014. The site’s Pinterest-like user-generated boards feature thousands of product images including artwork, jewelry, furniture and toys—all manufactured using recycled materials. With the launch of the marketplace, the company is now moving rapidly to become the focal point on the Internet for all things upcycled. The next module in development is a mobile sharing app serving as the communications hub to facilitate exchanges of raw materials between artisans and users, just one of several features designed to make creating and selling easier for artisans.

“I think UpcyclePost is fantastic, artists tend to be bad at self-promotion and I suspect that upcyclers are worse than most,” said artisan Andrew Chase, a sculptor and photographer based in Salt Lake City, Utah. “Having ones work displayed in a well-designed, professionally executed website will be a huge benefit to most artists, removing a large source of stress and distraction and allowing them to focus on making art.”

With the advent of sites like Etsy, Zibbet and Bonanza, peer-to-peer selling of handmade items has exploded into a multi-billion dollar industry. According to UpcyclePost co-founder and CEO Rich Lancaster, a 20-year ecommerce veteran with a passion for sustainability, “What’s missing is a unifying force to pull all participants together for mutual advantage— a community of buyers, sellers, and sharers motivated to expand the industry and create a more sustainable future in the process.”

Said Lancaster, “UpcyclePost’s feature-rich collaborative community is the missing link needed to connect artisans to consumers and bring upcycling to the mainstream.”

To set up interviews with co-founders Mark Howe or Rich Lancaster, or an upcycling artisan, contact Angela Moorer at angela@moorermedia.com or 206-745-0175. To learn more about the company, log onto upcyclepost.com.

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About UpcyclePost

UpcyclePost is a social sharing site and marketplace that provides a collaborative community for artisans and consumers of products made from recycled materials. Founded in 2011 with a mission of collaborative creation and a vision of sustainable consumerism, UpcyclePost is positioned to become a leader in the emerging upcycle economy. Learn more at www.upcyclepost.com.