Anusha’s Pupcycled Journey
Our very first clothing drive, volunteer event, and shelter donation!
Pupcycled was formed in December of 2023 by Olivia and Sophia, high school girls passionate about animals—in particular dogs—and environmental care. With this intent in mind, we began a nonprofit that crafts dog toys from recycled clothing material.
Sew, send, and smile. With the process of this, we can create these dog toys and make an impact. With love for our dogs, we hope to make a meaningful impact on the lives of these dogs and the health of our environment. Being formed so recently, we are proud of our latest accomplishment: reaching the milestone of 1,000 dog toys formed. This could not have been achieved by the relentless and dedicated team members, volunteers, and our partners.
Formed by South Bay high schoolers, our shared experiences of wanting to help out dogs who have gone through traumatic experiences from previous owners and instead give them another chance at a happier life, with hopes that our dog toys can help them achieve that. Seeing the news of staffing issues that exist at dog shelters, which make shelters face staffing shortages, many are unable to provide adequate care or public services as a result, which means that these dogs may be unable to have access to lots of playtime. We created the initiative of dog toys so that they can play with something and enjoy it. Pupcycled also prides itself knowing that with much care and love these dog toys were created by volunteers inspired by our mission.
Types of Pupcycled toys
Pupcycled creates three different types of toys as of now. We have sewn toys, cutting fabrics and putting cotton balls in between before sewing them together to make squeaky toys; rope toys, similar to the process of creating lanyards; and braided rope toys, looped toys which dogs can use as a “tug and pull” fun immersion activity. Each toy requires different processes--of course--so volunteers get to choose whichever ones they like best through the multiple options they have. In the future, we hope to expand the types of toys we produce. Yet, from the toy options we have, we recently hit our goal of 1,000 toys! This is significant because the process of reaching it was not an easy journey. Countless emails, numerous meetings, and a multitude of partnerships were necessary to even set up our first volunteer event. But we have now reached 16 volunteer events, and more to come in the future, and it was all with the dedicated efforts of every single member who has been a part of Pupcycled. Seeing the impacts it has on the dogs of local shelters is where we see all our work come in alive.
Me (center) leading an event at East San Jose Carnegie Library!
To become even more involved, we welcome individuals to become team members of Pupcycled. We have different initiatives for people to join like creating social media posts, writing blogs, starting a local chapter, raising funds, doing outreach, etc. If you are interested, visit the “Volunteer with Us” section on our website (pupcycled.org). As I reflect on the time that I have been a part of Pupcycled, I am so grateful I got such a wonderful opportunity to connect with my community. I used to have a dog who unfortunately was given away by my father to my dismay, so I always felt a gap in my heart knowing that she could still be in a shelter somewhere and I wouldn’t know how she was doing. Being able to lead my Pupcycled events and manage the blog division, feels extremely rewarding but also heals something in me knowing that I can at least treat other dogs better with toys made from love and care. To those who have similar experiences or have lost a beloved pet, I urge you to join our initiatives. Find a community that can support you and care for the same causes as you.
We hope to give life to discarded clothes by reducing textile waste. With our focus on upcycling discarded materials into pet products, we divert these fabrics from harmful environments like landfills, therefore decreasing the environmental burden of textile waste. We hope through our work we raise awareness about sustainable practices and the importance of reducing waste. In today’s world, it is especially important to increase consciousness to lead to more environmentally friendly choices in volunteers’ daily lives, which in turn creates an effect of positive environmental impact.
Written by Anusha Shringi
Edited by Anusha Shringi and Olivia Liu
