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CHALLENGE SUMMARY
CHALLENGE SUMMARY
Born of a desire to reduce India's mountain of waste, improve energy efficiency and help some of Delhi's poorest out of the city's slums, Conserve India achieves all this by turning plastic bags into high fashion.
Conserve started as a fledgling recycling project but quickly adapted to confront the biggest challenge, it was facing; what to do with the thousands of plastic bags that could not be composted or recycled locally.
After much experimentation, the Conserve team hit upon the idea of not recycling, but upcycling by washing, drying and pressing the bags into sheets. Handmade Recycled Plastic (HRP) was born and designs for handbags, wallets, shoes and belts quickly came flooding in. The challenge was obvious: Use high fashion to support better lives, for the poorest and a cleaner environment for all.
Today, Conserve India employs and trains hundreds of people from Delhi's most disadvantaged communities, to clear their streets of the plague of plastic bag waste. Once the waste bags are turned into HRP products, they are sold for profits which can be spent in those same communities on education and welfare programmes.
WHAT ARE THE REQUESTS?
WHAT ARE THE REQUESTS?
Collaborators with expertise in: Marketing, Business Management, Economy, Communication, etc.
Zero Waste, Business Model, Capacity Building.
Availabilty for 14 meetings with the entrepreneur.
Passionate in being a change maker.
WHAT WILL YOU GAIN?
WHAT WILL YOU GAIN?
Be part of the choice to put sustainable fashion in the spotlight and become a change maker! Moreover, you will be part of a global network of diverse professionals that work together to find comprehensive solutions to help re-shaping a new paradigm for the sustainable fashion industry. And then, why not implementing change in the local level?
WHO WILL YOU ENJOY THIS CHALLENGE WITH?
WHO WILL YOU ENJOY THIS CHALLENGE WITH?
She has a Master's Degree in Globalisation and Development Studies from Maastricht University where she focused her research on the sustainable technological transition in the fashion industry. She has worked in public relations handling fashion, beauty and lifestyle clients in Singapore and handled projects on implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in the Netherlands. She is currently a collaborator at Hecho por Nosotros, to promote innovative circular and sustainable solutions across the fashion industry.
Project Leader: Gwendoline Verkaik.
Advisors: Cristina Ribas; Anshi Saini; Mali Marin; Lucciana Salazar; G. N Raghu; Matilde Roche
Gwendoline Verkaik is passionate about exploring the intersections of sustainability, technology and development in the fashion industry.
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