What do you do with 4,000 obsolete game jerseys? The Portland Trail Blazers didn't think they had an excess problem until they suddenly had room full of obsolete game jerseys to dispose of... excess comes in many forms.

To deal with the problem, they called Looptworks. Our motto, "use only what exists" is the rule we live by in creating new and useful products, so we went to work figuring out what we could do. 

The solution: create wearables out of what was once wearable. 

A packable backpack came first. Then a scarf, followed by jackets. In order to upcycle the jerseys into new wearable products on a larger scale, we had to first deconstruct them.

For the deconstruction, we looked to our partners at PHC Northwest, also known as the Portland Habilitation Center (now, Relay Resources). They specialize in training and employing people with barriers to employment, providing them with technical skills that can earn them a living wage.

Once the materials are prepared for production, we're ready to upcycle! Some of the products are produced in house, while others are upcycled using local factories.

For game three of the Green Games, we produced what are possibly the most popular items yet - upcycled softshell jackets that we'd dubbed the "Let it Reign" Jackets.

If you're interested in a limited edition Let it Reign Trail Blazers + Looptworks softshell jacket, they're available at the Moda Center - tell them we sent you! (We also made a limited edition batch of unbranded softshell jackets available on Looptworks.com.)

This is the Trail Blazers + Looptworks Upcycled BBall Cap. The skyline is lazer cut from actual excess basketball material, and the cap is covered using upcycled material. Want one? We have a few hats still available, on Looptworks.com!

Our product for the final Green Game was an upcycled rolltop backpack.

The Trail Blazers produced a video documenting our partnership. Check it out on Facebook here.