Sustainable clothing brand UNIREC Motivated Over 1,00,000 students at IIT Bombay’s Mood Indigo Fest to Recycle Instead of Dumping Plastic
Mumbai, 4th January, 2023: UNIREC, the first sustainable brand from India that creates clothing made from recycled PET bottles, served as the sustainability partner at the 4-days cultural event of IIT Bombay’s (Powai) Mood Indigo, held from December 27th to 30th. The eco-friendly clothing company succeeded in getting the right attention, drawing in more than 1,00,000 students.
On each of the four days of the event, UNIREC had a unique dumpster stand in the form of a T-shirt to collect plastic bottles. The activity witnessed the huge collection of plastic bottles, increased awareness of environmentally friendly practices, and drew the attention of other institutes towards the sustainable clothing brand. From recycled plastic bottles, UNIREC will create clothing such as t-shirts, shirts, blazers, trousers, and sleeveless jackets.
“We are overjoyed by the response. Many institutes are now seeking us to sponsor their items, and some of them want to partner with us to demonstrate how complicated the process is. Additionally, there is still a long way to go in terms of raising awareness, even though many students were concerned about the environment. While many students used the dumpster to dispose of their plastic bottles, a sizable number still threw these bottles anywhere on campus. However, overall, the response was overwhelmingly good, and we received a lot of positive feedback.”
India produces 16.5 billion metric tons of plastic per year or more than 250,000 tonnes per day. Every Indian consumes almost 11 kilograms of plastic annually on average. PET bottles, however, can be recycled and transformed into plastic chips, which can then be used to create polyester fabric. When combined with cotton or other similar fabrics, this polyester fabric can undoubtedly aid in lowering carbon emissions and footprints. Thus, the problem and solution lie side by side.
UNIREC is the first sustainable company in India to produce clothing from previously used PET bottles. Each item of UNIREC clothing contributes to the recycling of 10 1-liter plastic bottles on average. While there are currently companies that produce t- shirts, UNIREC is the first company in the country to manufacture formal jackets, sleeveless jackets, trousers, and shirts along with t-shirts.
The team at UNIREC is working to turn the global problem of plastic waste into an opportunity under the direction of Mr. Kapil Bhatia, a renowned figure in the clothing industry and the director of a reputable menswear brand that manufactures and retails ready-made clothing and supplies uniforms, corporate wear, and accessories to various service industries and government organizations. Pants, trousers, jackets, and corporate uniforms are among the products sold under the brand UNIREC.
In addition to producing clothing from PET bottles that have been recycled, UNIREC is exploring ways to repurpose clothing in a variety of ways. This will increase the fabric’s life cycle while minimizing its negative environmental effects.