With holiday-related “to do’s” dancing in our heads, the scurrying and worrying has begun. What to get for family members who are impossible to buy for? Where to find classy or unique gift for your husband, wife or that special someone? If you want to be more green with this year’s gifts, check out Hipcycle.com, one of the leading online retailers for upcycled items. The term “upcycled” was coined in 2002 by William McDonaugh & Michael Braungart for their book  Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. Upcycling is the process of converting a material into something of similar or greater value, to a second life – using waste materials to create “new” useful products. Each Upcycled Woven Tin Bracelet is a one-of-a-kind It’s been called a greener way of recycling. Upcycling generally requires less energy than recycling, keeps materials once considered waste from going into landfills and reduces the need  to manufacture new products . I’ve written about upcycling in the past in reference to TerraCycle and its take-back Brigades and Upcycle the Gyres, which is working to upcycle ocean plastic debris into diesel, gasoline, and kerosene.