Upcycled bags.

Yang Wenqing, associate professor at the College of Design and Innovation of Shanghai-based Tongji University, cites Freitag bag, a Swiss brand known for bags made of truck canvas and car seat-belt, as a good example of a successful upcycling industrial design.

The professor has seen in Freitag bag the potential of turning upcycling into big business. Bags are priced at more than 1,000 yuan ($160) each but is commonly seen in Switzerland.

To raise awareness of upcycling, the cultural and education section of the British embassy in China launched an annual international competition of upcyling designs of industrial waste and leftovers last year at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, in collaboration with the country's universities and Guangzhou Low Carbon Industry Association.

The competition is a platform where Chinese and UK college students and teachers demonstrate their creativity and provide possible solutions for a low-carbon economy.

This year, 32 students and 16 teachers from six UK universities, 10 Chinese universities, and one South Korean university participated in the event in Changsha, Hunan province, in May. The exhibition at EMGdotART center in Guangzhou's Redtory art area comprises selections of their designs. The creations are on display until June 23.