Plastic waste collected by informal wastepickers is becoming a valued resource in the fashion and textiles industry. Buttons partly made from the plastic waste are being featured on garments sold worldwide.
- An innovative project involving informal wastepickers in Karnataka state's capital city of Bengaluru has resulted in 152 million buttons on garments being sold worldwide.
The Project: The $11 million initiative called Saamuhika Shakti was set up in 2020 by the H&M Foundation to address the gaps in the system that keep Bengaluru's wastepickers in poverty and exclusion.
- The buttons partly made from the plastic waste collected by these wastepickers are traceable down to the source of the waste along with names of the workers, social security, salaries and working conditions at the aggregation centre.
- The Saamuhika Shakti initiative unites ten local experts and NGOs across sectors in a holistic ecosystem in the city. The H&M Foundation claims that the initiative is already impacting 32,000 people in the community across education, health and safety, while contributing to a circular economy.
- The post-consumer PET waste sourced by waste pickers in Bengaluru is sold to social enterprise Hasiru Dala Innovations. From there, the PET waste is then flaked and washed and provided to button suppliers.
The Backdrop: Of the 62 million tonnes of waste generated annually in India, only 19% is treated and the rest ends up in landfills.
- The largest driving force behind recycling, are the about 4 million informal wastepickers, who are crucial to the waste management system.
What They Said:
If we collaborate holistically towards inclusive circularity, we can catalyse solutions that allow both people and planet to thrive. By addressing challenges related to waste pickers' lives, they have the potential to lift themselves out of poverty as well as contribute to a global circular system.
— Maria Bystedt
Strategy Lead
H&M Foundation
