Restyled: How Upcycled Jewelry Is Supporting Conservation

‍This blog post was written by Jenna Emons, a 2025 Marine Plastics Ambassador.

Restyle logo created by Jenna Emons, a 2025 Marine Plastics Ambassador.

With the support of EarthEcho, I’ve been able to turn my passion for conservation into action by creating my own sustainability project and making a change in my local area. My project aims to promote conservation in the La Crosse area through my social media campaign. I have been creating content as well as upcycled jewelry from second-hand materials to raise donations for the Mississippi Valley Conservancy which is a nonprofit supporting land conservation and restoration in the Driftless area.

A selection of my handmade upcycled jewelry, check out @ReStyled.LaCrosse on instagram to purchase one!

I started this project by launching my instagram, @ReStyled.LaCrosse and have had such a fun time creating engaging content such as a sustainable shopping guide, conservation in the Driftless region, and a blog post about our Washington D.C. trip. My main campaign is selling upcycled bracelets to raise money for conservation. My bracelets are made from second-hand materials that would be destined for a landfill, and feature a center bead made from turquoise that represents our Earth. One event I’ve hosted is a pop-up sale at my house. My roommates and I collected clothes, home items, and other pre-loved goods to sell at low prices. Between the two days, 28 people attended and I raised $50 from bracelets and goods sales.

My pop-up sale was a fun and easy way to connect with the community and share my mission.

Overall, I’ve reached 50 people in person with my project, and have reached over 1,000 people through social media. In total, I have sold 30 bracelets and raised $150 for the Mississippi Valley Conservation, and I’m so grateful for all of the support for my mission!

At first, I was nervous to start a social media project as I have never been much of an active user myself. However, I have learned that social media is an easy way to reach a wide audience. By developing my own personal brand that feels authentic to me, I feel much more confident about sharing content. Support from my friends, family and other ambassadors has been so important and reaffirming while working on this project.

While school has taken over my priorities lately, I plan to continue my project and interweave my environmental advocacy with my education. I am a senior at University of Wisconsin La Crosse studying Environmental Science and Biology and aspire to work in conservation. One future fundraising event I have coming up is selling insect-themed tee shirts. Entomology and animal conservation has always been a passion of mine, so I’d love to tie that into this project as well. Overall, starting this project and working with EarthEcho has been a powerful and uplifting experience. Becoming an environmental advocate has led me on a path that I feel so passionate about, and hope to make a true difference in protecting our world for future generations to enjoy just as I have.