The Christmas cheer hasn’t infected Meenakshi Sharma one bit. In fact, she doesn’t care for any festival. Why don’t people celebrate nature, she wonders. Why don’t we appreciate the glorious summer sun, the crisp winter air, the blossoms of spring or the crimson glisten of fall? For Sharma, the Founder of Use Me Works, a company that upcycles everything it can get its hands on, aims to nurture nature mindfully and judiciously. The most recent manifestation of their efforts is a 40-feet handcrafted Christmas tree at 32nd Milestone in Gurgaon, using 200 kgs of upcycled fabric scrap collected from factories, boutiques, and households.
A team of 30 women workers spent over a month to make this tree a reality. They dexterously made colourful fringes, buntings and flowers as ornaments for this tree.
On December 9, Sharma and her team of sustainability crusaders had been invited to decorate a carnival at the American Embassy. It was there that Mamta Sharma, the owner of 32nd Milestone, saw her work. Thoroughly impressed, she commisioned Meenakshi to set up an environment-friendly tree for Christmas, with non-biodegradable products.
Turning scrap into style has been a smart movie for Sharma as it has caught the attention of people for its eccentricity. Parallelly, it has also made the women of Chattarpur’s Andheria More area come out and earn a living.
Part of the reason for Sharma’s success is that she never gave into consumerism. The ever-increasing demands of modern civilisation have worried her for a good part of her life. So much so that she doesn’t think of her brand as a décor or designing company, despite making commercially viable products out of waste. “Our agenda is to simply cut down waste, and through our products, sell the idea of leading ecologically conscious lives,” she says.
Sharma sits assured knowing that there are many who genuinely care for the environment. Either way, as long as people are talking about slow living in this fast-paced world, she is happy.