In a city where brands rule, a new name is battling to make its mark: waste. The aisles at ECOLS, in Hong Kong's trendy Central district, are stocked with designer goods - stylish necklaces from France, a teakwood bookshelf from Thailand, a glitzy home-made vase, fashionable bags.

What sets them apart are the discarded materials they are made from: Tire inner tubes, sweet wrappers, pull tabs from drink cans and 16 mm camera film, to name just a few.

Some of the prices are eye-catching too. A chair molded from plastic water bottles by British artist Richard Liddle costs a cool HK$16,500 ($2,100).

"We've imported six of these (chairs) in different colors," said Stella Ho, the store's senior marketing executive. "We only have the purple one left."

ECOLS is among a wave of businesses trying to take advantage of the global resurgence in "up-cycling", a term coined in the mid-1990s for the art of making new items directly from waste products, rather than the traditional recycling approach of breaking them down into raw materials.

However, despite the success being enjoyed by stores in other parts of the world, thanks largely to a growing interest in environmentally sound products, industry insiders say the concept is yet to make an impact in Hong Kong.

With more than 200 products from more than 20 countries, ECOLS, which was opened by Ronald Lo and his wife, Phoebe Yuen, early last year, is arguably already the city's most established up-cycling store (at least 10 businesses have been opened in recent years).

"Some of our bags are as expensive as brand designs but every piece of ours has a story to tell," explained Ho. "Each ring-pull bag made in Brazil carries the signature of the woman who made it and buyers can send e-mails to thank her. People feel a more human connection with our goods."

Consumer choice

Although some consumers are willing to foot the bill for pricey sustainable products (a woman recently spent HK$3,000 on an Italian handbag made out of old newspapers), the market remains limited and business is slow.

"Most Hong Kongers are not that keen on 'green' things, so the concept is hard for them to accept," said Ho. "There are still many inventive works we haven't brought here as we're afraid they might be too avant-garde."

The choice between a HK$500 brand product and one made by up-cycling for the same price "still depends on a shopper's sense of social responsibility and ability to pay", according to Siu King-chung, assistant professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University's school of design.

"In both of these cases, attitudes toward up-cycling is far from mature in Hong Kong," he said.

However, those supporting the movement say a paradox is evident:if people were less sensitive about the retail price of green products and sales improved, more traders would enter the market, which would naturally increase competition and lead to price reductions.

In the meantime, ECOLS is running market research with temporary stalls in the Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay districts (another is planned for Sha Tin). The Central outlet also hosts regular exhibitions to promote new works by up-cycling designers.

Lo and Yuen, who also run a LED lighting business, recently purchased equipment to up-cycle wine bottles, while their online ECOLS store is expected to go live this autumn.