People for Urban Progress Is an Honoree in Fast Company’s 2019 Innovation by Design Awards

The PUP x Amtrak Collection joins 483 projects, products, and services from Nike, Microsoft, Mastercard, Gensler, and others.

PUP was honored in Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards for 2019 in the Fashion and Beauty category. 

Innovation by Design honors creative work at the intersection of design, business, and innovation. The awards recognize people, teams, and companies solving problems through design. Fast Company is recognizing an influential and diverse group of 483 leaders in fashion, architecture, graphic design, data visualization, social good, user experience, mobility, and more. 

“For decades, designers have facilitated overconsumption,” says Stephanie Mehta, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. “Now, the most ambitious in the field are addressing the grave problems consumption has wrought.”

Winners, finalists, and honorable mentions are featured online and in the October issue of Fast Company magazine, on newsstands today. Fast Company editors and writers spend a year researching and reviewing applicants for the awards. This year’s applicant pool was the most competitive ever, with more than 4,300 entries. 

PUP was recognized for their PUP x Amtrak Collection. This ambitious project aims to repurpose leather seat covers from 20 refreshed Amtrak Acela Express train sets into a line of hand-crafted luxury bags. The project began in October 2018 and PUP has been releasing small batches of handmade leather backpacks, tote bags, and other accessories over the past year. The next batch of products releases on October 2, 2019 and will feature two new styles. 

“We're grateful to be recognized in this category for our PUP x Amtrak Collection alongside trailblazing designers and companies. This project has been an exciting challenge for our design team, giving us the opportunity to rethink how we process material and reenvision a new future for both product design and industrial reuse.” - Jessica Bricker, Director of Design + Fabrication. 

Shop the PUP x Amtrak collection now >>

For press inquiries contact Emma Hagenauer, emma@peopleup.org.