A city-based collective offers consumers around the country an online platform to shop for fashion and home decor items made from recycled tyre tubes and milk sachets

A city-based collective offers consumers around the country an online platform to shop for fashion and home decor items made from recycled tyre tubes and milk sachets

The story behind Green The Gap Collective (GTG) brings forth visions of your designer turning scavenger, rummaging through waste to find what he needs to make that funky clutch you are going to carry to college.

Workers convert recycled material into products at the workshop.
PICs/ subhash barolia

A designer purse made from a Mother Dairy milk sachet and tyre tubes sewn into carry bagsu00a0-- here's a collective that uses the imagination to transform trash into trendy buys.

An off-shoot of NGO Swechha, GTG was launched in 2008 with the idea of recycling trash intelligently and creating solutions for underprivileged artisans.

The mission of the organisation is two-pronged: ensure livelihood for the product maker, and increase awareness among buyers about products that go easy on the planet.

"The vision is to give meaningful character to waste material to reduce the burden on ecology. We are indulging in small eco-friendly efforts. Why wait for a Gandhi or a Bhagat Singh to bring about a revolution?" says Vimlendu K Jha, the mastermind behind Swechha.

Kitsch-art look
At their Malviya Nagar workshop, junk including tyre tubes, milk sachets, juice Tetra Paks, recycled fabric, waste leather and trashed jute, find transformation.

The pieces are surefire conversation-starters, whether it's a clutch, coasters or tees. "At the core of GTG's products is design and quality. Consumers need to realise the value of recycling, and be cool and responsible simultaneously," says 31 year-old Jha.

Marketing ideas for the artisan
The organisation tries to facilitate small producers and retailers with marketing solutions. Apart from sourcing material from small enterprises, they also stock labels at their retail cart in Select Citywalk Mall. For consumers around the country, they offer an online shopping option.

Shikha Chadha, third year student at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, says, "I really loved the newness their products exude. They are perfect for the young shopper."

To shop online, log on to www.greenthegap.com
or join Green The Gap Collective Group on Facebook