The availability of materials accounts for the most important agenda in the upcycle and eco-design business. A long-standing challenge for many upcycle companies has been the stable supply of materials.
Gwangmyeong Upcycle Art Center seeks to collect information on companies and individuals that have ready-for-disposal materials to be made available for upcycle companies.
We have built a material database with the voluntary participation of citizens and created an online material store platform, so that companies can easily check information.
We encourage many citizens to participate in the material store, where anyone can register and query their upcycled and eco-friendly materials.
With the signing of a three-party outreach project agreement with IKEA Korea Gwangmyeong Branch and the Gwangmyeong City Social Welfare Council in 2018, Gwangmyeong Upcycle Art Center is actively pursuing an eco-friendly Gwangmyeong-style ESG project by adding upcycle elements to donation activities.
According to the agreement, IKEA Korea Gwangmyeong Branch regularly delivers furniture and home furnishing accessory products to Gwangmyeong Upcycle Art Center that are set to discarded for various reasons such as defects during the manufacturing and distribution process, store displays, or returns.
The delivered furniture is reinvented into upcycled furniture through the collaboration of Gwangmyeong Upcycle Art Center tenant companies, local artists, citizen participation groups, and IKEA designers.
Finished products are donated to welfare service facilities designated by the Gwangmyeong City Social Welfare Council, such as local child care centers and senior citizen community or care facilities.