- Nicole McLaughlin inspires Utah State students through upcycling workshops, emphasizing creativity.
- She collaborates with brands like Crocs, Vans and Gucci to repurpose waste.
- McLaughlin aims to instill problem-solving skills and innovation in future designers.
LOGAN — Nicole McLaughlin has built a career in upcycling — turning waste into opportunity.
Rather than seeing discarded materials as trash to be thrown out, McLaughlin turns waste into problems that she teaches others how to solve.
"I think just teaching people how to problem solve and get people excited about waste because I think it's fun," she said. "I'm the industry dumpster, that's my name."
McLaughlin has worked with major brands like Crocs, Vans, Gucci, J. Crew, and more, taking unused and discarded materials and reimagining them into entirely new designs.
"It's a balance, being able to balance my own identity," she said.
The companies she works with often have a specific way they build their products, eschewing changes to their brand. She said she tries to combine her preferences with what the companies have already produced.
McLaughlin brought that mindset to Utah State University, hosting an upcycling workshop with Outdoor Product Design and Development students.
"The goal is always to try to find creative ways of reworking something," she said. "I have so much fun within my process, and so to be able to share that with other people and get them inspired and excited about the idea of upcycling is always like the best and the biggest goal for me."
The workshop was designed to be hands-on, low-stakes and high-fun, encouraging students to experiment, problem-solve and rethink how everyday materials can be reused rather than thrown away.
McLaughlin said working with students is one of the most rewarding parts of her career, connecting with designers at the very beginning of their professional journeys.
"There's something about the next generation of designers that are coming up," she said. "They're at this very vulnerable state in their lives, and their future careers are all ahead of them. This is really when you can put these ideas into their heads about what the possibilities are."
McLaughlin's passion for upcycling began while working in the footwear and apparel industry, where she noticed how much usable material was being discarded.
That experience led her to partner with brands like Crocs, Vans, Gucci, and J. Crew, using their unused or excess products to create new works of art and design.
"Just because it might not function as a jacket anymore doesn't mean it has to stay a jacket. Even if you're just taking the zipper off of it and finding another way to use that, that's better than it being thrown away," she said. "Just small ways of being able to integrate products that maybe can't function anymore as that thing, find different ways of being able to use what's left. And, you know, there are so many possibilities."
McLaughlin also said upcycling programs like Utah State's give students access to tools, materials and opportunities that help prepare them for careers in the outdoor industry, something she said makes a lasting impact.
"If this existed when I was going to school, I for sure would have chosen this," she said. "I think it prepares you in a way that gives you both the life experience and the product experience."
McLaughlin hopes experiences like this encourage students to see value not only in discarded materials, but also in creativity – proving that innovation often starts with what others leave behind.
