Laptop bags, home decor from garbage

Ever thought of garbage being turned into fine products used in and outside the household?

This is what exactly a 22-year-old product designer-cum-entrepreneur is doing --- turning garbage into laptop bags, stationary and home decors.

Suresh Vikhash started the project as a creative venture aimed to reduce the ever-mounting waste, which poses a huge problem to civic authorities and public in the city.

"One of the ways to tackle the issue is to re-use a product thereby increasing its life, which is essentially called upcycling," Vikhash, who graduated from Bangalore-based Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, told PTI.

"I was constantly exploring creation of quality products that completely trash the notions of garbage and instead provide utility-centered durable products that we believe can easily replace anything you buy in style, design and life," he said.

Raw material used for the products come from all things thrown away - right from tetra packs to chips packets and small bits of clothes.

"And the product line is just as diverse -- multi-utility laptop bags, sling bags, wallets, stationary items such as pens, pencil boxes, photo frames, files and woven products for home decor using natural fibres," Vikhash said.

"You have to see it to believe it and no, nothing smells," Vikhash said as he displayed his products for which many corporate houses, including Wipro, have placed orders.

Vikhash, who has been working in this field for over a year, believes his innovative solutions to deal with waste management can empower the underprivileged.

He is in the process of launching a company 'Thunk' with Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) as initial investment and where all the involved stake holders will become shareholders.

Vikhash hopes to launch the products in the market on the World Environment Day, falling on June 5.

Initially, ten products will hit the market, which would be increased to 20, depending on the demands from customers like coffee shops and IT companies, he said.

"I primarily started dealing with three aspects of city life that can otherwise easily go unnoticed. Using household, industrial and natural waste to make products increase their life -- also known as cradle-to-cradle design approach," he said.

The company would provide and empower livelihood of the underprivileged -- slum dwellers, SHGs and HIV patients and collaborate and co-create with experts and stakeholders, including powerloom owners, Vikhash said.

For the raw materials, Vikhash said he had arranged rag pickers and NGOs.