Archive · 30 Nov 2025
Bengaluru's Textile Waste Recycling Revolution
In Bengaluru, a group of people and organizations are working together to recycle old clothes.
They collect used clothes from people's homes, sort them into different types, and send them to special places where they can be reused or turned into new things.
This helps keep the clothes out of landfills and makes money for the people who collect and sort them.
Some of these people, like Kumudha Ma and Indumathi, have even started their own businesses because of this work.
The project is part of a bigger effort to make sure that clothes are recycled properly and that everyone involved gets a fair share of the benefits.
Bengaluru's textile waste recycling initiative involves door-to-door collection, segregation, and recycling of post-consumer textile waste.
The program is led by organizations like Hasiru Dala, Saamuhika Shakti, and Saahas Zero Waste, with support from various civil society groups.
Textile waste is sorted into 10 categories and sent to textile recovery facilities for downcycling, recycling, or resale.
The initiative has diverted over 575 metric tonnes of textile waste, increased incomes for over 300 waste pickers, and been recognized by UN-Habitat.
The goal is to create an inclusive, circular textile economy that benefits waste pickers and prevents textile waste from ending up in landfills.
- Who
- Waste pickers, social impact organizations, and civil society groups in Bengaluru
- What
- A textile waste recycling initiative to collect, segregate, and recycle post-consumer textile waste
- When
- The program was developed in 2018, with significant activities ongoing in 2023 and 2024
- Where
- Bengaluru, India, with plans to expand to other cities
- Why
- To create an inclusive, circular textile economy, prevent textile waste from ending up in landfills, and provide livelihood opportunities for waste pickers
- Location
- Bengaluru, India
- Organizations Involved
- Hasiru Dala, Saamuhika Shakti, Saahas Zero Waste, Circular Apparel Innovation Factory (CAIF)
- Textile Waste Collected
- 575 metric tonnes (by Indumathi's TRF)
- Income for Waste Pickers
- ₹3-5 per kilo of textile waste
- Key Figures
- Kumudha Ma, Nalini Shekar, Indumathi, Venkat Kotamaraju, Shobha Raghavan
- Textile Recovery Facility (TRF)
- 5,500 sq. feet, established in 2023
- Categories of Sorted Clothes
- 10 categories (whites, coloured cottons, reusable clothes, etc.)