For 60 years Fabindia has been sustaining crafts and craftsmen, whilst working with many sustainable materials. Now, the brand has launched a new collection called Shunya. Derived from the Hindi word for zero, this is a range of rugs that have been woven the traditional way, but by using recycled PET yarn, derived from discarded plastic bottles.PET or polyethylene terephthalate is a thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family, biodegradable and semi-crystalline.
This new offering is all about finding creative ways to be more resourceful. Plastic bottles that are collected manually from the scrap markets in India are used to make these rugs. Once sorted by hand, they are melted down and formed into chips or flakes. These chips are then sent to yarn spinning mills where they’re processed to make yarns.
About 1.2 kg of plastic converts to 1.00 kg of plastic fibres, which in turn is processed to make 900 gm of PET yarn. Approximately, 260-300 pieces of plastic bottles are used to make one rug that is measured at 120x180 cm.The collection is steeped in the brand’s typically contemporary design style and offers a muted yet refreshing range of geometric woven dhurries. The products are GRS-certified, which signifies that they are fully environmentally sustainable.