Re-make in india: Don't discard, upcycle!

Avinash Rebello went from the high-powered consumerism of the ad world to opening a little store in Indiranagar that sells nothing but upcycled products. In an interview with Joyeeta Chakravorty, he talks about how the store serves mainly as a conversation-starter for interested passers-by, introducing them to the wonders of upcycling

Bengaluru has long since grappled with the concept of recycling in the hope of mitigating its solid waste management troubles. At a time when citizens are trying to push recycling for all they’re worth, Avinash Rebello, who sits in a quiet corner of his cosy shop in Indiranagar, simply asks, “How about upcycling?” It refers to ‘creative reuse’, instead of the more reductive concept of recycling which involves converting materials and products into items of lesser quality.

‘Remade in India’ isn’t just one more in a long line of establishments offering organic or boutique products that let consumers pat themselves on the back for having served the environment. Instead, it serves as a sort of launchpad for an idea that has added a new dimension to the concept of recycling. Avinash, who is the founder and Managing Director of Remade in India Waste Solutions, says the idea germinated many years ago: “I am an advertising man, but I was always struck by festival seasons, when people bought decorations in bulk, only to throw them away the next day. I wondered about the waste being generated and if there was a better way of doing things,” said Avinash, from behind the store’s billing counter – an old washing machine painted bright yellow serves this purpose.

A closer look at the store reveals that the bag and jewellery holders have been designed from old taps and the signboard from the side of an old Maruti car. “The sign catches people’s eye, they walk in asking ‘Why remade in India’? We end up having a beautiful conversation as they understand what goes into the products,” Avinash said. “How often do we stop to look at the things we’re throwing away, or wonder about an alternate use? These are the questions we need to ask.”

The store opened as recently as October 2016, but Avinash has been carrying out his experiments for a while now. His tyre installations at Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda Festival a few years ago found much appreciation, spurring him on to try his luck at the Kitsch Mandi in Mumbai and Bengaluru. “By then, I had decided to open a store for my products,” he recalled, also in part so he could inspire people and spread the word on upcycling. Avinash also made up his mind not to take his products straight to the online market. “You don’t realise the uniqueness of a product until you actually hold it,” he remarked. “People often believe I use leather, until I point out that it’s a rubber tyre!”

Recycling and reusing, he says, are old, Indian concepts. “our grandmothers reused everything, as did their mothers before them,” he said. “It should come naturally to us!” While selling their goods is the baseline for every enterprise, Avinash’s store leans markedly toward the awareness side of things. “Everything in the store has been upcycled. Apart from the paint, everything is old and had once been discarded. I use a washing machine as the store’s desk,” he smiled.

Registered as a waste management company the idea behind the store is not merely conservation. "It is about working smart. It’s about the large, intangible aspects of waste. The store is a conversation starter more than a place to buy, sell and make profits,” he emphasised.  “The process needs a shift in attitude and for that, we need conversations around consumption.

The shop has some seventy upcycled products including bags, lams, jewellery, note books, shoes, bottles, bottle caps, wall decor and accessories.  His store has also attracted NGOs and environment activists who in turn bring school children to study upcycling. "The best part of it is that like-minded people come in and we talk about how to make the city liveable by being sensitive to the environment. It’s been a short while, but I have met people from across the spectrum, from artists to activists, who have given me the chance to learn so much.”