Have you been wanting to declutter your wardrobe and pass along old clothes to those who need them, but just don’t know how to? Well, now your daily commute will make this effort seem effortless as Delhi Metro stations have started setting up 10 Arpan Kendra donation boxes. This facility is being made available across key stations to curb textile waste and promote recycling.
The donation process is seamless and digitalised to enable donors to scan a QR code at the kiosk, submit brief details about their items, and receive an instant digital certificate of appreciation upon verification. The authorities then track these collections via a centralised dashboard. “We want to ensure that everything that is given away, none of it goes to trash. Either it is reused, or it is recycled. All the collected textiles will come to our facility where they will be sorted. The ones that are in good condition will be distributed to NGOs,” informs Archish Kansal from Respun, which is a clothes recycling service that is executing this initiative wherein the facility is now operational at five metro stations and also coming up at Hauz Khas, Malviya Nagar, Lajpat Nagar, Dwarka, and Mohan Estate.
“Usually, when you give out clothes to someone and it’s not in good condition, then that ends up in the landfill. So the main challenge that this whole program aims to solve is giving people an option to give away their old clothes in a conscious way,” adds Kansal, sharing adding that the Kendras will also serve as a selling point for recycled and upcycled products. “If the clothes are not in the condition to be reused as a garment, but the fabric still holds good quality then that would be given to self-help groups who can in turn reuse it to make handmade products like bags and decorative crafts that will also be then sold at these Arpan Kendras,” he adds as a resident stops by Shalimar Bagh Metro Station and informs, “I’ve had two heavy bags of winter clothes sitting in my closet for months. Sometimes work got in the way and at other times didn’t know where to take these,” says Rohan Verma, 28, a Delhi-based corporate consultant, adding, “I saw the clothes donation box at Shalimar Bagh during my morning commute the other day and that was just the push I needed to drop off that bag that was lying in my cupboard for months.”
{{/usCountry}}“Usually, when you give out clothes to someone and it’s not in good condition, then that ends up in the landfill. So the main challenge that this whole program aims to solve is giving people an option to give away their old clothes in a conscious way,” adds Kansal, sharing adding that the Kendras will also serve as a selling point for recycled and upcycled products. “If the clothes are not in the condition to be reused as a garment, but the fabric still holds good quality then that would be given to self-help groups who can in turn reuse it to make handmade products like bags and decorative crafts that will also be then sold at these Arpan Kendras,” he adds as a resident stops by Shalimar Bagh Metro Station and informs, “I’ve had two heavy bags of winter clothes sitting in my closet for months. Sometimes work got in the way and at other times didn’t know where to take these,” says Rohan Verma, 28, a Delhi-based corporate consultant, adding, “I saw the clothes donation box at Shalimar Bagh during my morning commute the other day and that was just the push I needed to drop off that bag that was lying in my cupboard for months.”
{{/usCountry}}“It’s such a practical idea for working parents,” adds Supriya Sharma, 25, a school teacher who crosses Lajpat Nagar every day, and is waiting for Arpan Kendra box to be installed here soon. “I’m planning to clear out my kids’ outgrown clothes as soon as the box is installed at the station near my house, as its convenient to drop off these on my way to work. Knowing that this small initiative from my part will also support women-led self-help groups makes me feel even better about being contributing towards it.”
Commuters can drop off old garments from 7am to 7pm at these Delhi Metro stations:
-Punjabi Bagh West (near Gate 2)
- Mayur Vihar Phase-I (Near Gate 2)
- Shalimar Bagh (near Gate 2)
- Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital (BEtween Gate 1 & 2)
- Shahdara (Near Gate 1)
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