People for Urban Progress

PUP is creating a smarter, more sustainable, and more resilient city by combining good design with existing resources. We are stewards of those resources and curators of public spaces.

PUP is a nonprofit organization that exists to progress the built environment to ensure all citizens can enjoy and benefit from thoughtful and responsible design. We believe that ‘used’ does not equal unusable. PUP primarily designs and sells hand-crafted fashion accessories by repurposing discarded materials. We pay local makers and artisans good wages to create these products. We curate designers and big-thinkers to solve the complex urban design challenges for citizens that are typically overlooked. Our work has been featured in Dwell, CityLab, Curbed, Fast Company, Midwest Living, The New York Post, The Washington Post, USA Today and The New York Times.