Shruti Sharda
Student – M. Design – Accessories and Fashion
Renaissance University
Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Ananya Sharma
Assistant Professor ,
Renaissance University
Indore, Madhya Pradesh
FROM SNACK PACK TO STATEMENT TOTE
Ever wondered what happens to that chip packet or gift wrap you toss in the bin? When you tear open a bag of chips or unwrap a birthday gift, the crinkle of plastic is almost as familiar as the snack itself. Most of us toss that glossy wrapper straight into the bin, picturing it rotting in a landfill for centuries. But what if that wrapper could become a stylish tote, a sturdy laptop sleeve, or even fund a child’s school fees? Welcome to the world of up- cycled plastic – wrapper bags—where waste gets a second life and the story behind the stitch is as compelling as the product itself.
“Trash is solely a blank canvas awaiting the artisan’s imagination.”
Up cycling not only diverts waste but also converts it into premium goods—handbags, accessories, décor—while empowering marginalized artisans. Pune’s EcoKaari hand – weaves discarded chip packets, cookie wrappers and cassette tapes into fabric using a traditional charkha and handloom, relying solely on human labor and age – old techniques, with no heat, chemicals or electricity. Likewise, reCharkha revives the ancient charkha to spin cleaned wrappers into yarn, keeping the process entirely chemical – free and energy – free.
The entire workflow is immaculate and eco – friendly, yielding beautiful, functional pieces: pristine wrappers are gathered, colour-sorted, sliced into strips, spun on a charkha into yarn, woven on handlooms into a water-resistant fabric, and finally stitched into totes, sleeves or accessories—often lined with cotton. This seamless, sustainable process transforms discarded plastic into stylish, durable products.
“They turned the first thing that chokes our streets into a livelihood that stitches our future.”
Amita Deshpande and Nandan Bhat, the founders of reCharkha (2015) and EcoKaari (2020), respectively, share a common catalyst that sparked their passion to tackle plastic pollution. For Amita, it was a trek in the mountains where she saw plastic littering the landscape, and for Nandan, it was seeing plastic bags blowing across trek routes. This experience sparked their passion to address the issue and create a solution that would not only reduce plastic waste but also provide livelihood opportunities for marginalized communities.
The impact is striking—each workshop employs up to fifty women from marginalized communities, reCharkha has up cycled over 700,000 packets into ₹70 lakh in sales, and the revenue from 30,000 monthly bags funds dozens of school fees, while diverting soft plastics from rivers and oceans to curb micro plastic pollution, providing employment to many.
Their venture has garnered notable attention: The Better India profiled Amita’s 2021 shift from corporate life to “plastic spinning,” News 18 detailed EcoKaari’s “trash-to-fab” weaving process in 2022, and The CSR Journal featured a 2023 Q&A with Nandan Bhat on funding, expansion and the crucial role of source segregation.
“A carry‑all can be a gift; a sack can be a donation.”
These up cycled plastic wrapper bags show that breakthroughs don’t always demand new tech—just a pair of hands, a charkha, and the willingness to see value where others see waste. The next time you pick up a packet, ask yourself: is this the end of its story, or the start of a new one?
In the quiet revolution of upcycled plastic wrappers, reCharkha and EcoKaari prove that true innovation lies not in invention, but in reimagination—turning the scourge of plastic waste into threads of hope, handbags of dignity, and futures funded by forgotten scraps. As each crinkled packet spins into yarn on a charkha, it weaves a larger tapestry: livelihoods for marginalized women, rivers freed from microplastics, and a blueprint for anyone daring to stitch waste into wealth. So, the next time you unwrap a gift or savor a snack, pause—your discarded wrapper isn’t trash; it’s a seed waiting for hands to nurture it into something extraordinary, reminding us that sustainability begins where waste meets will.
Sources
The Better India. (n.d.). The Better India – Positive news from India. https://www.thebetterindia.com
ReCharkha – The EcoSocial Tribe. (n.d.). ReCharkha official website. https://www.recharkha.org
The CSR Journal. (n.d.). Corporate social responsibility news & insights. https://thecsrjournal.in
The Art Hive. (n.d.). The Art Hive official website. https://thearthive.com
