Mr. Kalin is big on 'upcycling,' a process whose name was coined by William McDonough, an architect, and Michael Braungart, a chemist, in their 2002 book, 'Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things.' They used the term to describe the process of taking something that's essentially waste and moving it up the consumer-goods chain. 'I love upcycling,' Mr. Kalin said. 'I love this idea of bringing something from lower down and elevating it.'
—Penelope Green, "Romancing The Flat Pack: Ikea, Repurposed," The New York Times, September 6, 2007

We also consider "upcycling", which involves taking used materials and increasing their value. For example, by taking an old shirt that someone won't wear just because they've dropped a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar on it, printing over the top of it and perhaps cutting into it to make it fit with current trends. It's very quick and easy. I can upcycle a worn-out ordinary shirt into a designer handprinted B.Earley one.
—Lucy Middleton, "Turning the fashion industry green," New Scientist, October 6, 2007

Recycling in many cases means "downcycling" — in particular cases, however, it can also mean "upcycling".
—James Mason, "Design for Manufacturability," American Society of Mechanical Engineers, March 1, 1994

I'd like to ask if i could lift some of this data for my GCSE project and im not sure if i need copyright permissions. email me a patrick.978@hotmail.co.uk and let me know if i have permissin. thanks love you xxxxxx <3 ;)

I would like to use this definition in my coursework, because it explains upcycling in a simple way and its easy to understand. Please may i use this. Can u please reply to me on my e-mail ASAP ''eamonn.nemeh@hotmail.co.uk''

railroadware - repurposed reused upcycling transforming common industrial objects such as insulators, trafficlight lenses and railroad parts into useful lighting hardware and hope furnishings

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/03/HO8U1J9DHA.DTL

I beg to differ from the earliest citation and definition. Wikipedia has a citation from Reiner Pilz of Pilz GmbH in an interview by Thornton Kay of Salvo in 1994, Germany. This is the source both wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upcycling and the article http://www.salvoweb.com/files/salvonews/sn99v3.pdf page 11.