Consumers with cashmere sweaters they no longer want to wear can already send them to teddylux to have them converted into stuffed animals. For those who prefer upcycling with a more utilitarian result, however, there's now Reknit, which turns old sweaters into scarves and other practical goods.

Each month, Reknit will unravel old sweaters and re-knit them into a different item; this January, it's scarves. Consumers begin by choosing from two different scarf styles—each priced at USD 30—and sending their old sweaters to Boston-based Reknit. Then, “my mom will turn your old sweater into a new scarf,” as the site's creator explains it. Visitors to the site even get to vote on which type of items “mom” will convert sweaters into next month: a beanie, an iPod case, cut-off gloves or socks. (Spoiler alert: the cut-off gloves are currently in the lead.)

There's no denying the environmental benefits of upcycling, but at least as compelling are the business reasons. Want a pattern to follow? Knit one row of green for eco appeal, then purl two rows for a story worth repeating. Next, finish it off with a fringe and a flourish and watch as the orders come in! ;-) (Related: Leather jackets remade into designer bags — Stray single gloves matched & sold to new owners — Design your own hat & choose your own knitting granny.)

Website: www.rekn.it
Contact: www.rekn.it/contact

Spotted by: You Might Find Yourself

Knitwear fans can already design their own hats and even choose a granny to do the knitting, thanks to French Golden Hook. Now they can design their own cashmere sweaters, scarves and more—and then sell their creations—on Trendy Workshop.

Users of Custom & Co.'s Trendy Workshop—also from France—can create their own knit sweaters, scarves, dresses, tunics, bags and jackets in a choice of cashmere or cotton. The site's design platform lets users specify the shapes, sleeves, necks, finishes, belts, pockets and other details of a variety of items for men, women and children. They can alternate front and back views at will throughout the design process, as well as choosing from a wide range of colours for their creations. Pricing for a custom-designed cashmere scarf, for example, is EUR 89. Clothes designed on Trendy Workshop are produced in China and delivered within three weeks, according to a report on Tiburon-TV.

Perhaps even more interesting than the design-your-own capabilities, however, is that creating an item on Trendy Workshop entitles the user to sell their creations on the very same platform. Beginners start with the status of "designer apprentice" and set up a personal store on the site. Their creations then get shown in the online boutique and offered for sale. For every purchase, a commission of 5 to 10 percent gets awarded to the product's creator, depending on their status.

Trendy Workshop currently offers delivery to Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, Austria, Denmark, Ireland and Portugal. One to partner with or emulate for the knitwear fans near you...? (Related: Design your own Keds & sell them on Zazzle.)

Website: www.trendy-workshop.com
Contact: bonjour@trendy-workshop.com

Spotted by: Tristan Daeschner

With the many items that can be customized today—from muesli to fabrics—the trend is still going strong. Case in point: Lip Balm Labz, a Canadian startup that lets consumers design their own lip balms.

At the Lip Balm Labz store in Toronto's Dufferin Mall, customers can pick and choose from more than 20 tantalizing flavors to be mixed in their lip balm, which is crafted from all-natural ingredients including beeswax, coconut oil, shea butter and cocoa butter. "Mixologists" at the ice cream stand-styled lab are clad in tie-dyed lab coats and dance to thumping music as they mix and pour the hot lip balm into the container of the customer's choosing. Once it cools, customers walk away with a customized tube of lip balm, made exactly how they like it. A spin-off venture from the Rivendell Soap Factory, Lip Balm Labz also lets consumers order online. Pricing is CAD 2 per tube plus CAD 2 for shipping.

Want to hop on board the customization train yourself? Then look around for options that include a bit of style but haven't yet been claimed. One possibility we'd love to see: design-your-own toothbrushes! :-)

Website: www.lipbalmlabz.com
Contact: sales@rivendellnaturals.com

Spotted by: Sheri Allain

We've seen one-of-a-kind jewelry created to replicate a wearer's scar, as well as bracelets featuring a map of the New York City subway. Borrowing a bit of both concepts, Etsy designer triggerhappy offers two necklace designs that can be personalized to reflect the wearer's story.

Triggerhappy's Narrative Cartography series features a tag made from recycled bits of silver and inscribed with the latitude and longitude coordinates of a location that's significant for the wearer. Not only that, but a secret password comes with each one-of-a-kind necklace, inviting the wearer to share the story behind the location on an interactive Google Map. The Narrative Cartography necklace is priced at USD 36.

Then there are Moon Shines, made-to-order sterling discs that reflect the moon phase on a particular date. Each 3/4-inch disc is fabricated in silver and then hammered and oxidized to indicate the lunar phase. Available on either a 16- or 18-inch chain, each USD 38 necklace also comes with a handmade card featuring an accurate picture. Moon Shines have been used to commemorate births, anniversaries and even a burial, triggerhappy says.

Combining one part mapmania with two parts status stories—with perhaps a splash of off=on thrown in, to continue in our sister site's lingo—triggerhappy's necklaces offer not just personal decoration but a way for consumers to reveal to the world a little bit about what makes them unique. Makers of t-shirts, bags, and most any other publicly visible good: there's a lesson in here for you! ;-)

Website: www.etsy.com/shop/triggerhappy

Anyone who's ever tried on lipstick knows that the way it looks once it's applied can be dramatically different from what the manufacturer's colour guide would suggest. With that in mind, BeautySwatch aims to give consumers a true-to-life view of lipstick shades by showing how they look on real people.

Much the way Stitsh highlights the outfits of real-life consumers in its street-style fashion blog, so BeautySwatch relies on uploaded photos from makeup fans to help uncover the true appearance of lipstick shades. A team of self-proclaimed "shopaholic bloggers" of varying skin colours and ethnicities are constantly adding new swatches to the site, featuring photos of themselves wearing various lipstick shades and brands. Readers of the blog are also invited to contribute their own photos, including not just product information but also a rating of their own lip pigmentation. The result is that BeautySwatch visitors can preview colours before they buy as well as participating in community discussions about lip products and related topics.

Akisa, the Australian site's founder, explains: "If you're like me, I always google the makeup product for swatch images before I purchase online. Most times I can't find the shade in high quality images, and other times a totally unrelated brand or shade appears in my search results on my favourite blogs!! Hence the idea sprung on me one day to start up BeautySwatch.com, and build a colour swatch library with high quality images."

With its focus on real-world consumers' experience of products—rather than manufacturers' descriptions—BeautySwatch is yet another testament to the power of twinsumers and web-enabled transparency in guiding consumers' purchase decisions. Next, we'd expect BeautySwatch to add e-commerce capabilities like those on Stitsh's site, partnering with lipstick retailers or brands to capitalize on visitors' buying intentions. One to team up with, in Australia or elsewhere, to help make that happen...?

Website: www.beautyswatch.com
Contact: akisalove@gmail.com