Luxembourg Upcycling Initiative (LUI) is a project by Hëllef um terrain. The purpose of the project is to create objects of use out of local discarded workwear, thereby reducing Co2 emissions following a circular economy approach by repurposing materials still in good conditions. 

The project encompasses the following points: 

• recovering uniforms destined to be thrown away and destroyed (e.g. from the army, police, fire brigade, Post Luxembourg or even private companies), giving them a second life and using them as raw material for other textile products;
• working on prototypes allowing the raw materials to be reused as much as possible and minimise textile waste production.

LUI is a project that started in October 2023, and it will continue at least till 2028. The first results from the LIST (Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology) indicate significant environmental benefits of upcycling over traditional production. On average, upcycled products achieve an 87% reduction in environmental impacts compared to new products across all impact categories. This includes reductions of 93% for the hot-water bottle cover, 73% for the laptop sleeve, and 96% for the bike bag. The extent of this reduction varies by accessory type and impact categories.
 

Focusing on “climate change” and “water use” impact categories.

• Climate change: upcycling allows for considerable reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, avoiding up to 6.60 kg CO2 eq./kg for the laptop sleeve, 5.89 kg CO2 eq./kg for the hot-water bottle cover, and 4.44 kg CO2 eq./kg for the bike bag. These avoided emissions are largely due to the reuse of existing textiles, which eliminates the need for energy-intensive production of new materials like polyester and polyurethane.
• Water use: water consumption is significantly lower in upcycled products, with savings reaching 1.92 m³/kg for the bike bag, 1.56 m³/kg for the laptop sleeve and 1.53 m³/kg for the hot-water bottle cover. This highlights the high-water demand of primary textile production, which is avoided through upcycling.

The findings provide strong evidence that producing textiles products through upcycling leads to significantly lower environmental impacts compared to brand-new production. This supports Luxembourg’s circular economy and sustainability goals.