these
tires are being torn apart to get a few
extra miles
as footwear the scraps get cut
reshaped and transformed into sandals
like these
tire waste has become a big problem here
in india but one woman found a way to
turn the pollutant
into a fashion statement it is
eco-friendly it is environmentally
friendly it is up-cycled product
she's hoping to repurpose some of the
waste in her country
and change how people think about
consumption along the way
growing stacks of discarded tires in the
city of pune
sparked this 27 year old telecom
engineer into action
most of the tire scraps in the country
are nothing but
addition to landfills these are
non-biodegradable
they causes air pollution as well as
soil pollution it is
alarming condition for us in 2018
almost 2 million tons of rubber waste
were shipped abroad
the equivalent of 200 million tires
britain
italy and the united states are the
biggest exporters
and india is the number one recipient
the rubber
wire and fabric from the imported tires
are usually melted
down and turned into fuel in what are
called pyrolysis
plants but puja had another idea i
enrolled myself in a competition held by
startup india and i won the award of
best woman
entrepreneur so after that competition
i started manufacturing the footwear she
began by working with a rag picker
someone who sells materials salvaged on
the streets and from garbage
is
if she's making a design in bulk but
sometimes she gets scraps from this
tailor too
soon
breaking into the male-dominated
footwear industry has come with
challenges
when initially i used to visit different
vendors
or different manufacturers in local
areas they advised me that ma'am you
should bring someone with you as a
bodyguard at least you should bring your
husband with you
it is not good that you are roaming
around here like alone
but that hasn't stopped her from wanting
to expand her business
right now we are targeting india ladies
customer
with age group of 15 to 60
but very soon we are launching our kids
collection and mains collection
her mission is to create something clean
and usable
from an object known to be dirty and
toxic footwear manufacturing do not
involve any chemical reaction
on tyre which causes air pollution air
pollution from burning tires
creates health risks that range from
skin irritations to heart attacks and
lung cancer
according to indian public health
experts an audit in july
found that over 40 percent of the 637
licensed tire melting plants in india
were not meeting environmental standards
backlash from activists and residents
has led india's environmental court to
consider banning some plants
a ruling is expected in january but
pooja says her hope for consumers is to
become more conscious
of the footprints they leave behind
before buying anything
you should think about the meaning of
the product
the process of manufacturing of the
product and all contains
of those products
you