Jothi Speciality Papers turns cotton scraps into biodegradable mannequins

Just a few days in the past, a video on Erode-based Jothi Speciality Papers — that highlighted its undertaking crafting biodegradable mannequins — went viral on Instagram. In case you have been questioning how this undertaking got here to be, right here is the model’s backstory.

Helmed by Mani P and his spouse, the corporate has been creating recycled cotton rag paper from textile scraps since 1996. “In 1994, we visited a garment manufacturing unit in Tirupur, noticed a variety of waste textile cloth that ended up in landfills, and realised there have been a number of different factories disposing of extra cloth waste. We determined to transform this waste cloth into recycled cotton paper. We additionally wished to make sure the paper is utilized in the identical textile manufacturing unit for his or her packing, worth tags, and many others.,” says Mani, including that their agency is International Recycled Commonplace (GRS) licensed, a tag ‘given to corporations that meet stringent standards for recycled content material, social and environmental practices, and chemical restrictions within the manufacturing of their merchandise’.

The method to craft a model begins with the model sourcing cloth waste from garment factories within the area
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Particular Association

Name for change

In 2010, Mani and his workforce have been approached by jewelry model Tanishq with a singular request. They wished eco-friendly jewelry show busts to switch their current plastic or fibre counterparts. “We researched for a 12 months to create these show stands from scrap cotton cloth,” says Mani, who repeatedly provides handmade paper to Bengaluru, which led to the decision from the jewelry model.

Tanishq sources 20,000 mannequins yearly for his or her 500 retailers throughout India
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Particular Association

Ayil Raghavan, Senior Supervisor-Visible Merchandising, Jewelry Division, Titan Firm, says the collaboration took place once they began sourcing handmade paper from Mani for the corporate’s stationery. “After visiting their set-up and finding out their course of, I, together with Ajay Kumar BV, deputy group supervisor at Titan, determined to experiment with crafting eco mannequins, and have developed them with their help. Right this moment, we supply 20,000 mannequins yearly for Tanishq’s 500 retailers throughout India.”

After supplying these stands for over a decade, Mani and his workforce wished to do extra to deal with the difficulty of plastic waste within the business. “In 2023, we heard that there are ‘model graveyards’ the place used collectible figurines are discarded. We researched for six months and in 2024 created a model made utilizing recycled waste textile cloth,” he says.

It takes two individuals per week to make one figurine
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Particular Association

The method to craft a model begins with the model sourcing cloth waste from garment factories within the area. “Leftover cotton cloth from the making of attire, toy covers, mats, and many others is collected by us and become pulp. This pulp undergoes a 30-step course of together with mixing the pulp with a pure and biodegradable glue, moulding, and many others. to craft mannequins,” explains Mani. Every of the collectible figurines is hand made by an all-women workforce, and it takes two individuals per week to make one. “They’re naturally dried as utilizing machines may harm their kind, and this course of takes two-three days.”

Every of the collectible figurines is hand made by an all-women workforce
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Particular Association

100 T-shirts = 1 model

Taking us by means of the method, “Every model can last as long as 5 years, and two-three years if used roughly,” says Mani, including that they’re priced between ₹5,000 and ₹25,000, relying on the dimensions. “We recycle above 100 T-shirts (25-35 kgs of textile cloth waste) to make one model. They’re 20% lighter in weight than plastic/fibre variants, are anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, and could be customised.” Ayil explains that they earlier used fibre mannequins. “The eco variants are lightweight, and sustainable. Though they’re costly and must be modified each few years, their environmental advantages outweigh these considerations.”

The drying course of
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These collectible figurines can biodegrade in two methods: put them in soil for a slower degradation, or break them into items, pour water on them, after which add them to soil for a sooner course of. “The previous biodegradation technique takes two-three months, and the latter takes about two-three weeks primarily based on the local weather. Hotter temperatures result in sooner degradation, and we are able to additionally ship them to recycling services if corporations don’t need to use the soil technique,” explains Mani.

100 T-shirts (25-35 kgs of textile cloth waste) are used to make one model
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Particular Association

Having mentioned that, why have these mannequins not reached different manufacturers but? Mani explains that given the effort and time that goes into creating them, the workforce wants “excessive volumes” to work with. “Orders with smaller portions should not possible,” says Mani, who’s now getting enquiries from textile manufacturers in Chennai and overseas.