In a toast to creativity and resourcefulness, the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) held its inaugural Upcycling Competition awards ceremony at the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) offices in Kingston last Friday (July 18).

The initiative enabled participants to showcase their artistic skills by transforming discarded materials into unique and functional pieces.

CAC chief executive Dolsie Allen explained that the aim of the competition is to promote sustainable practices among citizens.

“March 15 is World Consumer Rights Day every year, and this year’s theme was ‘Sustainable Living Fi All A We’… . It is really for persons to look around their surroundings and see things that they normally would have discarded to see how they can repurpose it into something that is reusable and useful,” she said.

Launched on March 14, participants were challenged to reuse materials and make them into items in the categories of fashion and décor.

A six-member, all-female team from Charlemont High School placed first in the fashion category, with a floor-sweeping dress design constructed from recycled jeans materials.

They received a cash prize of J$30,000, a sewing machine, a CAC tote bag with novelty items and a certificate.

For the décor category, Marsha Russell placed first with her unique decorative wall art constructed from cardboard, a mirror, flower decoration and vase.

Russell walked away with a cash prize of J$30,000, a television set, a CAC tote bag with novelty items, and a certificate.

“We are very pleased with what we saw here… the pieces are creative. What we want from this whole competition is beyond winning prizes; we want persons to have a change in their mindset. We have to protect our environment and ensure that we leave a better [country and world] for the next generation,” Allen told JIS News.

The CAC, a government agency under the Ministry of Investment and Commerce, is tasked with enforcing the Consumer Protection Act and a range of additional legislation, promoting competition and fair trading, for the benefit of all Jamaicans.