It is important to recognise and respect the rights and dignity of people with disabilities and to provide them with equal access to education, employment, healthcare and other services. And this is exactly what the Blind People's Association in Ahmedabad is doing. The Blind People's Association also known as BPA is a non-profit organisation that works towards the betterment of not only visually impaired individuals but also people with other disabilities. In recent years, the organisation has been involved in upcycling and reusing old clothes as a way to promote sustainability and also generate income for people with disabilities.
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Sharing the reason behind this, Nandini Rawal, Executive Director, of Blind People's Association said,
We realised that we don't want to ask people only for money because money is not the only thing we need. We need the goodwill of people and we need that people give to people and people get involved in the process.
With the idea of involving people, BPA decided to ask for donations in kind. Ms Rawal added,
It is to make people aware of how their old products which could be discarded, can be meaningfully turned into wealth for the good of mankind. Initially, we decided to collect old clothes and gradually we moved to other items like old furniture, equipment and toys.
The old clothes, like sarees or suits, which are in good condition are straight away given to girls and boys with disabilities.
Ms Rawal said,
For them, something which is a discard for you or something which is out of fashion for you is extremely important for them (people with disabilities) to tell the world that I also have good clothes.
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The BPA's upcycling initiative involves collecting old clothes from donors, sorting them according to their quality, and then transforming them into new products such as bags, garments, cushion covers, and other household items. The products are then sold at their store named Magic Fingers.
Explaining the reason behind using old sarees, Ms Rawal said,
Not many disabled people wear sarees. We use it to make the best wall hangings, aasans for pooja (prayer mat), little bags and toilet kits. We also use it to make very fancy boutique kinds of products. And, when a donor, who has donated a saree, walks into our shop called ‘Magic Finger' because our children have magic fingers, they identify that “oh, this was my saree and see how it has been transformed into a thing of beauty”. That is where the donor feels very happy that this product, which would have been thrown away; part of it was in tatters but today it is being so beautifully transformed into a thing of beauty and a thing of beauty is a joy forever.
Donating clothes for upcycling and reusing is a great way to support sustainable fashion, but most importantly to prevent them from ending up as waste in landfills. According to industry estimates, more than a million tonnes of textiles are thrown away every year, with most of it coming from household sources.
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Sangita Kalani, a homemaker from Ahmedabad often donates to BPA. She said,
I visited this place two to three years ago and saw them reusing clothes and turning them into new products. I had a few clothes in good condition, and I have brought them here. I also make Rakhis, so I have brought those too. They will reuse them in another way.
This also provides an opportunity for people with limited resources to access clothing that they might not be able to afford otherwise. Dr Bhushan Punani, General Secretary at the Blind People's Association opines that a lot of disabled children come from poor families and for them, affording good clothes is a challenge. He explained,
When we went for the concept of a charity shop, the whole idea was, that there are a lot of clothes which can be used by other people. And it will connect the people with the people. We wanted cloth as a medium of giving support to special need people and that has worked very well.
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This initiative not only helps in reducing textile waste but also provides employment opportunities for visually impaired and disabled individuals. The organisation trains them in sewing and other related skills so that they can create upcycled products. This helps in building their confidence, self-reliance, and financial independence. Overall, the BPA's upcycling and reusing old clothes initiative is a great example of how sustainability and social impact can go hand in hand.
Dr Punani believes every piece of fabric has value for someone. He added,
Every cloth has a value. It may not be used as it is. It may change its form. There may be refitting of the clothes or the cloth can be used for something else which is useful. Every cloth which is lying in our cupboard has a value. Let's encash that value for something good for society. If you start giving the clothes, they can be used as it is or they can be used in different forms by using cloth as a base for making various products that are useful to the non-affording people.
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The students here have found creative and innovative ways to make the best use of waste materials. With their unique perspectives and problem-solving skills, they develop a range of products and solutions that are both functional and environment-friendly. This is not only helping them create new opportunities for themselves, but they're also making a valuable contribution to the community. In fact, their contributions are being used in other parts of the country.
Mr Arun Kejriwal, an advocate from Mumbai, is a regular customer of bags made out of old and worn-out sarees. He purchases these bags from BPA and then distributes them for free to people around his area in Mumbai. His idea is to help create a more environment-friendly future. In an interview with NDTV, he said,
By converting a cloth or garment like saree, we are increasing its utility period. A used garment or cloth would anyway have been wasted or dumped. By converting it into a cloth bag, we are actually improving or prolonging the utility field of that cloth. With this, we are following the 3Rs - reduce, reuse and recycle. Cloth is a recyclable material. We ‘reuse' by using the same cloth bag again and again and with that, we also ‘reduce' the number of plastic bags from being used.
The upcycling and recycling of clothes can help reduce the amount of textiles that end up in landfills, while also promoting creativity and sustainability. By repurposing old clothes, we can give them a new life and reduce the environmental impact of our clothing consumption, literally by tonnes.
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