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It's hardly getting as much attention as it should be at the
fashion week, what with models, designers and the who's who of
India's entertainment industry around. But Anita Ahuja's store
'Conserve', with its colourful and trendy bags made out of
recycled plastic, is surely making its presence felt.
Nestling close to the scores of stores of fashion gurus at the
venue of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW), which shows
off their glitzy designer collection, 'Conserve' has bags,
slippers and jewellery in a variety of colours and shapes lining up
its shelves.
Conserve is an NGO formed in 1998 to help the marginalized urban
poor through the development of a model that utilises plastic,
polythene bags, to produce fashionable accessories.
The USP of these products is that they are water resistant, stain
resistant and have a long shelf life.
"This, while recycling waste and helping the environment, also
provides income to the poor," said Ahuja, the woman who
conceptualised Conserve.
The factory where processing of plastic waste takes place is in
east Delhi's Patparganj area. And the processed material which is
finally woven into fashionable items is called handmade recycled
plastic (HRP).
"HRP has a natural feel, texture and colour, which gives the
product a unique attractive appearance and feel. It's amazing how
a used and ugly polythene bag can be converted into a beautiful
hand bag, without the use of any artificial dyes," Ruchika Whorra,
a merchandiser who works with 'Conserve', told IANS.
With the support of the Asian Development Bank, Ahuja and her team
works on projects to generate income, through the production of
this material, for the less advantaged communities in Delhi.
This is the first attempt of Conserve to market and sell its
products in India through the WIFW.
"People here don't value such products, which are made out of
recycled waste products simply because they don't understand its
value, not as much as abroad. But now we feel that things are
changing," Whorra said.
"One can see a lot of products such as lamps and pen stands made of
recycled paper in the stores. Hence we decided that this is a good
time to enter the Indian market."
A wide range of products, from hand bags - day bags, beach bags and
evening bags - to slippers, from funky jewellery to pen stands,
from table mats to cushion covers, even posters, are available
under this roof.
These are very conveniently priced as well. One can pick up any
item and shell out anything between Rs.300 and Rs.3,000.
Designed by Indian and international designers, the products have
got a good response abroad.
"We have participated in the Paris fashion week and in the
Singapore exhibition and have received a good response. We export
our items to America, parts of Europe and Australia," Whorra said.
"After the WIFW, we will participate in an exhibition in Paris this
month and then in the Fashion Excess Fair in Hong Kong from Oct 3
to 5."
The response at WIFW is, however, not as enthusiastic as was
expected.
"We have got two orders as of now. There have been a couple of
enquiries as well. It is not a very enthusiastic response but
considering the fact that this is our first attempt in India, it is
good," Whorra said.
All said and done, team Conserve has the big picture in mind, so
such things as not receiving a very hyped response doesn't
dishearten it.
"Recycling plastic bags in this manner is a motivation to dispose
them of correctly. It is not a whole solution and should not be
accepted as an endorsement for continued use of plastic bags.
"They are an environmental nuisance and hopefully one day their
need will no longer be felt. But until then, all efforts must be
taken so that these visual eye sores are collected from the garbage
dumps and recycled appropriately," Ahuja said.
Indo-Asian News Service
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