Old Military Uniforms And Our Discarded Clothes Get A New Meaning

India has the world's second-largest military force with approximately 1.4 million active military personnel. This includes the men and women who serve in the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Navy. During the course of their military career, our defence personnel wear different uniforms, which change based on rank, duty and occasion. Over the years that amounts to many, many pairs of uniforms per soldier. However, when the uniforms reach the end of their life cycle, they create a major concern - how does one dispose of them with dignity?

NGO Sewaj Neesim Foundation, founded by Lt. General Ashim Kohli, gives these uniforms a new identity, a new purpose, and new pride as they now come to symbolise service of a different kind. The old uniforms are upcycled into articles of use like bags and caps, among others.

The Sewaj Neesim Foundation collects old uniforms in a variety of ways - retired officers bring them to the workshop; the foundation organises special drives to collect them; old uniforms from various cantonment areas, academies and headquarters are sent in via courier.

Once the uniforms are received, the team then carefully checks for any medals, insignia and name tags, and removes them with due respect. The uniforms are then sanitised, cut and stitched into articles like school bags, carry bags, laptop bags, files, bottle covers, face masks, blankets, aprons, bibs and other such useful products.

Every part of an old military uniform is put to use, even the katran or the leftover scraps of cloth which are stored in tonnes. Under the theme "Har katran kuch kehti hai" (Every piece of scrap says something), the organisation makes small stuffed toys. These products are then donated to those in need, especially children and those in old age homes. The products made from the old uniforms are also available for purchase. Any earnings from the sale of the products are sent to the martyrs' fund.

In addition to addressing the issue of textile waste and environment conservation, the entire process is also helping generate employment. The products are produced by associate NGOs based in Delhi and Pune, employing the services of local people, particularly women. And most importantly, it is fulfilling someone's basic requirements for their daily needs.

It's not just old military uniforms that are being repurposed. Your regular clothes, furniture, stationary, and other items can also be put to use. Share At Door Step (SADS), a single individual social enterprise, founded by Anushka Jain collects discarded clothes and other items right from your doorstep and distributes them to over 135 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who in turn take them to those who need the most.

To donate, individuals can visit Share At Door Step's website and schedule a pickup. "How it works on the backend is that we have a matching algorithm that matches donations to the requirements of the nearby NGOs," says Anushka Jain, founder of SADS.

After an order is placed, an NGO partner is assigned, based on various parameters like urgency, items required, quantity, and others. The items are directly picked up by the NGO partner. Users are informed which NGO has taken care of their discards. One such NGO is MaxVision Social Welfare Society in Gurugram (erstwhile Gurgaon).

MaxVision Social Welfare Society was started in 2004 and runs a school for the underprivileged, providing free of cost education and support for a basic lifestyle. Families and neighbours of the children studying here get to fulfill their basic needs of clothing through the donations received by the center from SADS. Clothes that may be hand-me-downs for donors are of great value to the people receiving them.