15 designers will vie for the title of upcycle king or queen on Saturday, March 10 at the second annual #REPURPOSED: An Upcycle Fashion Show + Auction. Last year, this event brought more than 200 people who watched and bid on items that were transformed from cast-off clothes to couture fashion. Local designers created these extraordinary pieces from finds at Goodwill – competing for cash and bragging rights. Join us this year at 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 10 at Warehouse 242, 2307 Wilkinson Blvd to see what the designers have in store for us!

Presented by the City of Charlotte Solid Waste Services and Dupp & Swat, #REPURPOSED educates our community on upcycling, and encourages them to consider this option as a way to reduce waste and improve their health.

Here’s how it works:

Goodwill® Industries of the Southern Piedmont allows competing designers to choose from items from our stores in order to transform them into couture clothing and accessories. Designs are showcased at #REPURPOSED and bid on by attendees. Dollars raised from this event go toCrownKeepers, a nonprofit dedicated to the creation, mobilization and sustainability of artists in the Queen City. Winning bidders can keep garments to rock their own runways. The designer of the piece that gets the highest bid wins the competition.

Why we are working with the city on a Path to Waste Reduction:

Environmental sustainability has been central to Goodwill’s mission since its foundation in Boston in 1902. Goodwill® Industries of the Southern Piedmont’s donation-resale model extends the life of usable clothing and other goods, and earns revenue for Goodwill job training programs, employment placement services and other important social services that have benefited more than 12,600 people in the Charlotte region in the last year alone. Each year, more than two million pounds of materials, including environmentally hazardous electronic waste, are diverted from local landfills.

The city’s Environmental Committee also seeks to divert waste from the landfill, increase composting and promote waste options. One way to bring awareness to this goal and help make this vision a reality is by stressing the importance of upcycling, recycling, reusing and composting in fun and creative ways. The more than 218,000 households served by the City of Charlotte Solid Waste Services generate 1,600 pounds of garbage per household per year. This trash goes to the landfill where methane gas and leache, trash juice, is created causing air, soil and water pollution. This pollution can be linked to chronic diseases, including cancer, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and diabetes, proving there is a direct connection between your health and the environment.

One way to improve personal and environmental health is to manage your waste better. If each household reduces their garbage by 16 pounds per year, nearly 1,744 tons of garbage can be diverted from the landfill. There are many items that can be donated to your local Goodwill to turn into valuable community programs, instead of adding to the waste pile. From clothing and accessories, to books, housewares and electronics, your old items can help someone in our community earn family-sustaining employment.

Solid Waste Services is teaching citizens practical ways to manage waste better through theHealthy Communities program, which uses #REPURPOSED, the Food Too Good To Waste Challenge, games, school presentations, workouts and cooking classes to educate and inspire change in waste behaviors.

For more information about #REPURPOSED go repurposedclt.eventbrite.com. To read more about the city’s Healthy Communities program visit www.healthycommunitiesclt.com.