65 million kgs is the estimated waste to be generated from masks and according to a report, humans are globally using and disposing of an estimated 129 billion face masks and 65 billion plastic gloves every month, that we deal with COVID-19. These masks are now clogging our drains and affecting our marine life.
3 graduates from IIM Kashipur, Siddhant Kashyap, Indrasish Majumder and Garvit Sahdev, under the guidance of Prof. Vaibhav Bhamoria have launched a campaign called “Pledge Your Mask’. This campaign aims at making people pledge that they will not litter masks and responsibly dispose them of. It encourages people to get these masks upcycled or recycled instead of just throwing them up.
Interestingly, they have started an initiative called Infinite X which is an online circular fashion marketplace for sustainable brands. It is working to reduce the environmental impact of fashion industry and therefore, post usgae it takes back all the clothing sold from the platform including masks. They also offer free doorstep pick up for used clothing with interesting rewards.
The collected clothes are then recycled, refurbished, upcycled etc. to increase their lifecycle. As of now, they have partnered with Dr. Binish Desai also known as the Recycle Man of India. One of the co-founders said that they have just begun, their vision is to lead the fashion industry into a better and more sustainable future for all, one step at a time.
