TEAM 13 DESCAT K

UP-CYCLE USED CLOTHES TO EMPOWER VULNERABLE COMMUNITY

Pandemic has taken a toll on humanity. Worst hit are the economically weaker sections of society globally. They are fighting for survival in each city globally due to the loss of livelihood. DESCAT- is developing a sustainable business model for the collection of used clothing to upcycle for supporting these pandemic hit vulnerable communities in each city.

TRACK TEAM COMPETING IN: WILD CARD ENTRY _CHALLENGE #4

PROBLEM

Vulnerable community during the COVID-19 pandemic have faced multiple hardships. With factories and workplaces shut down due to the lockdown imposed in the countries, millions of workers had to deal with the loss of income, food shortages and uncertainty about their future.

More than 35 percent of the global population have been either terminated from their jobs or are cut off due to monetary business issues in COVID.

Most of the discarded garments end up in Landfills and they sit there for 200 plus years without decomposing properly. During this slow process, it emits methane – a greenhouse gas which has more potent than carbon. Annually more 85 percent of garments end up in landfill, only 10 to 15 percent get recycled. And that’s a very low margin in absence of a sustainable business model.

SOLUTION

DESCAT – Dev Ethical Sustainable Crafts and Textiles is creating a city based model to support vulnerable community by offering an intelligent system for collection used garment at first point of generation.

A real-time app will be used to implement the solution to connect every stakeholder, engaged in activity related to clothing landfills in the city. This app connects consumers to the brand by scanning a code on the garment in offline retails or during check out in online purchases. Once connected with brands, buyer gets disposal options for used clothing of any brands

Set a date for collection of disposing of used clothing for up-cycle
Like to do self up-cycling of used clothing
Contribute to the community for clothing up-cycle
Do not want to dispose

Community Up Cycle Center

Designer Institute summarize collection details and help designer associate working with local community in up-cycle center for sorting out with community member on the basis six functional pillars of circular economy for re entering into value chain.

Each up cycled garment bear a bar code of up-cycling and community empowerment journey along with acknowledgement of the contribution to environment of his buying decision of a up-cycled garment.

COLLABORATOR/STAKEHOLDER

Clothing landfills are problem for every concerned citizen. Therefore, the app connects every stakeholder in a city for a sustainable efforts to not only help and support underprivileged sections in the city but also reduce land fills area in their city.

Brands
On line retailer
Offline retailer
Advocacy groups
Delivery Boy, Door to Door vendor
University students
NGOs working with vulnerable community, under privilege women, prisoner,
Circular Designer- Institute
Municipality
Local Government.

VALUE DELIVERED

Value to Owner:

Belonging with his used garment
Recognition of his environment impact
Feeling of doing a social cause

Value to Brands:

Increasing circularity
Increasing Brand value by social cause
Validated data for sustainability reporting
Connecting with customer

Value to Municipality:

Improved life of the vulnerable community prisoner, transit people
Early inculcating of circularity among university/school children
Reduce sorting cost
Reduce landfills, good environment

Environment

Reduce transportation footprint for sending to recycle
Reduce recycling footprints.
Equivalent reduction of water and air pollution of new clothing production

BUISNESS MODEL

Pilot

It is proposed to pilot the concept in the concerned municipality generating significantly land fills with every stake holder in place. This will help in getting on board the stake holders for validation and base line survey of the existing used clothing disposal system. This will be a add on system for the improvement and not to compete .

After validation, feed back six months implementation will be undertaken in the municipality. A replicate of the business model in 5 more city will be proposed on the basis of findings. Lungby and DTU seems to ideal partner for piloting the project.

A more flexible model for each city will be proposed after completing 5 city findings after first year for unleashing power of collaboration among developed and developing economies.

Cost

The expected cost of the pilot is 100000 USD for the creation of advocacy groups, getting stake holder on board, setting of community up cycle center.

Financing Options

Financing options for the pilots would by

Brand partner
Foundation
Local Government

Revenue Generation

The revenue generation opportunity to make a sustainable business models are from

Brands Endorsement
Sales Proceeds
Advertisement revenue
Municipality contribution on account of less land fills