Upcycling fashion repurposing plastic waste

During upcycling, the repurposed garments have less impact on the environment in terms of energy, water consumption, fewer chemicals and harmful gas emissions in the environment as compared to other sustainable concepts such as recycling.

It’s just not the global influencers like H&M, Zara, and Urban Outfitters among others, the Indian fashion industry has also hit upon this new drift now as many are embracing the principles of upcycling with a newfound vigour.

“The jacket that Prime Minister Modi wore, in the Rajya Sabha during an ongoing Budget Session of the Parliament, is made out of 28 PET bottles. It has been recycled in our facility. PET bottles are collected in the form of bales, and these are sorted to remove the caps as well as labels. These are then crushed and recycled in a 10-stage process to clean hot wash flakes. These flakes are in turn made into polyester fibre and this fibre becomes yarn, used for garment production,” said Senthil Sankar, managing partner, Ecoline Clothing. 

UniRec, founded by Kapil Bhatia, manufactures shirts, blazers, and trousers from recycled polyester fabrics. They recycle around 12 PET bottles to manufacture a single garment; reduce carbon emission by two kilograms in-line. 

Doodlage, an upcycle factory with a sustainable approach, believes that eco-fashion is the need of the hour. They produce only limited edition garments, upcycle the waste to create accessories, soft furnishing products and paper to make packaging.

Mochi's Ecoz, Neeman’s Relive Knits  employ similar objectives to reduce carbon footprint and promote eco-friendly characteristics. Both collections use natural, renewable and biodegradable fibre in their shoes.

Everyone is starting to wake up to the fact that the consumer preference has changed, and they want more eco-friendly products. Now realising the importance of sustainable culture, the majority of consumers want brands to help them be more environmentally friendly.