India officially banned the use of single-use plastic on July 1, 2022, in an effort to reduce the damaging impact of plastic on the environment. According to an April 2022 report in The Economic Times, plastic waste generated in India amounts to 3.5 million tons. As an answer to this issue, and now gaining more momentum, numerous startups and even bigger businesses have formed strategies and worked with recycling companies to employ recycled plastic in the development of their goods.
One such recycling firm in India is Banyan Nation, which supports companies using recycled plastics in their usual products and packaging. At the Banyan Nation factory in Hyderabad, plastic is cleaned, recycled, and sent back to the manufacturing industry for further use. The company has collaborated with L’Oréal India, KKR India Financial Services, Tata Motors, and Intel India.
We look at five Indian companies that use recycled plastic material to develop fabric for clothing and other accessories, including furniture.
Unirec
Founded in 2021, Unirec creates clothing, workwear, and uniforms from recycled plastic bottles. Their objective is to make sure that used plastic materials do not end up back as waste material that pollutes the environment. Carbon emissions are lower throughout their manufacturing process. Unirec products include trendy T-shirts, shirts, jackets, blazers, and trousers.
According to the information posted on India Retailing, Unirec’s CEO and founder, Kapil Bhatia, remarked, “We are a brand that makes garments/workwear and fabrics made from PET recycled clothes. When we thought of sampling the brand, the first few challenges were to deal with the packing and delivering of the products. Even the team was unsure of handling these challenges.”
“We realized at that time sustainability is a culture, not a habit. If we’re building a brand where we make garments from recycled pet bottles, it doesn’t absolve us from the responsibility of behaving in a manner where our brand ensures that we will have minimum waste of anything that we use/consume in our day-to-day lives,” he added.
Visit the Unirec website HERE
Thaely
The brainchild of Ashay Bhave, Thaely manufactures footwear using fabric produced solely from used plastic bags. As shared on the brand’s website, “the production process does not need any additional chemicals nor does it release any toxic chemicals as a byproduct.” Thaely’s manufacturing plant is located in Gurugram, India, with its headquarters in Dubai.
ThaelyTex – a fabric made entirely out of waste plastic bags, PET made from recycling plastic bags, and recycled rubber is used in developing their sneakers. As shared by Business Insider India, in May 2022, 5.03 percent of Thaely Private Limited was purchased by footwear retail chain Metro Brands.
Visit the Thaely Store by HERE
Alcis Sports
Alcis is a sustainable sportswear company with newness, originality, and innovation in sports as part of its core values. Its headquarters are situated in Noida, India. The apparel are created by taking into account the Indian climate and lifestyles. Alcis’s product line includes clothing and accessories for jogging, exercising, and other sports and leisure activities. These products are crafted from fabric that was created using plastic bottles, cups, and straws.
The mission statement on the website reads, “Sustainability is and remains a key value of the ALCIS brand”
Visit the Alcis store by HERE
Bottle & Co
The shopping and retail brand Bottle & Co, based in Delhi, India, produces apparel made from recycled plastic bottles. The company focuses on developing comfortable, original clothing made from environmentally friendly materials. In addition to recycled polyester fabric, organic cotton and plant-based materials composed of bamboo, hemp, cornstarch, and banana peel are also utilized in their creation.
Their mission statement stated on the website reads, “By 2022, we intend to retract and process 1 Million plastic pet bottles and plant 15K trees.”
Econiture
Econiture, a division of Recycle Bell Private Limited, operates on the circular economy concept, where trash is recycled into unique products. Founded in 2017, the company develops furniture from recycled plastic materials. Its offering comprises a variety of chairs, writing desks, racks, stands, tables, and benches, to name a few. Their website states that econiture’s benches are made without any chemicals or color pigments.
In a post published in the Times of India in June 2022, CEO and Co-Founder Madhur Rathi discussed the potential of recycling waste to generate revenue in India. He stated, “India has the required infrastructure in place, however proper channelization of resources is not being done. Multiple start-ups have penetrated the market, but they still remain an untapped segment. If we can capitalize on these resources, it can generate an unimaginable amount of revenue, employment opportunities, and a lesser carbon footprint.”
