6 Creative Ideas to Upcycle your Banner

What is upcycling?

First thing’s first – what does upcycling mean exactly? Put simply, it refers to reusing discarded objects or material in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original.

You’ve probably already heard of many things that can be upcycled. But what about your old, unused banner? Banners are made up of two different components:

1. Base unit and mechanism
2. Printed PVC graphic

The base unit is made of aluminium, which is recyclable. You can do this yourself by removing the PVC graphic from the base.

Alternatively, if your base allows for a changeable graphic, donate it to someone who may want to use it. They can add their own graphic.

Banner graphics are commonly made from PVC which is almost completely unrecyclable and can take hundreds of years before degrading when disposed of.

What are the benefits of upcycling?

The most obvious benefit of upcycling is its environmental impact.

Upcycling minimises the volume of discarded materials (in this case – your banner stand) being sent to landfill each year. Also, by upcycling old materials, the need for producing new materials is reduced which means less air pollution, water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

6 easy ways to upcycle your banner

1. Cut down in strips to create slat style door curtains
2. Create branded bags and totes to use at events
3. Turn into flag bunting for decoration or parties
4. Donate it to a local school or youth club to use for crafting
5. Create a trendy belt to wear
6. Use it as a temporary partition screen

What are your thoughts on our upcycling ideas? Feeling inspired to do something similar with your old Marler Haley banner?

We've got the professionals involved

We’ve reached out to some upcyclers to see what they can do with old banner graphics.

Our first submission is from the very talented upcycler, Kelly Ordemann from Made By Kelly O – an architect by day and a crafter by night. She specialises in turning plastic bags into unique pieces.

Although banner graphics are not the standard material Kelly works with, she was happy to take up the challenge:

“I really enjoyed working with the graphics to find the right look for each bag - by abstracting the graphic these can be really interesting bags, and each one is entirely unique.

“The robust nature of the banners gives the finished bags a great structure and crispness. These bags will last a long time - even with heavy use.

“They are also naturally water resistant, so can help protect the things inside (or those outside!) from unwanted damp.”

Catherine Morgan from PlanetRubber also upcycled a few of our banner graphics. We asked how she managed to work with the PVC graphics - to which Catherine replies:

"It became obvious from the start that the vinyl wouldn’t suit many of my designs as it is a lot more rigid, however it was perfect for a protective sunglasses case and small card wallet.

"The material was a little difficult to cut with a craft knife for some of my more intricate designs but I did manage to make a couple of motifs that might make interesting accessories or additions to handbags."

Below are some of the upcycled items that have been made:

Get in touch if you would like your old graphic turned into something interesting. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact us – marketing@marlerhaley.co.uk

If you have any further ideas about how to use old banners, we’d love to hear! We also explore some of the best upcycling ideas on our Pinterest board.