While the Delhi's hazardous air quality continues to make headlines after Diwali, there are other sources of pollution that can have equally damaging effects on the environment.
After traffic-one of the main sources of air pollution-the agriculture and textile industries are also guilty of adding to the rising pollution levels, especially in the amount of toxins they release, and the water they use. We usually associated pollution with smoke billowing out of chimneys and coal mines, but do not give a second thought to the shirts on our backs.
The best way to do this is to ‘recycle' these clothing items. While a few organizations have started the recycling process, a small Gujarati community-Waghari tribals-had already put the recycling process into practice a few years ago. The process followed to produce a pair of denims, and a shirt involves the use of harmful pesticides in cotton farming, toxic dyes for manufacturing (cotton is the most chemically-dependant crop), non-biodegradable waste and most importantly, about 5,000 gallons of water. The disposal of textiles is problematic too. There is a dire need to judiciously use our current resources without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The women of the tribe journey from door-to-door to barter new kitchen utensils for old clothes. They collect clothes from every day pheris, after which they get down to sorting and selecting them at home.
The 'Kapda Mandi' at Raghubir Nagar area in West Delhi starts at wee hours. Merchants finishes these clothes and sell further to the retailers. - Cheena Kapoor/DNA
The selected clothes are then displayed at an early morning market.
About 500 kg of old clothes are displayed at the Raghubir Nagar market in West Delhi on a daily basis. Sheetal, 20, a waghari woman, wakes up at 3.30 am every morning and reaches the ‘Kapda Mandi' by 4am to ensure she occupies a prime spot. She competes with other sellers at the market to attract customers. After a hard day's work, Sheetal takes her bundle of old clothes home, and then sorts them out for the next day.
The clothes are segregated based on their quality, and then sold to merchants who add the finishing touch before they are sold to retailers. Manoj visits the market twice every week, buys old denims for Rs 20 a piece, mends and washes them and then sells them for Rs 40-50 a piece. These wholesale markets across Delhi allow people who cannot afford new clothes, to buy them. Also, it helps inculcate a sustainable mindset in people.
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 "A man sells old clothes received during barter system at the 'Kapda Mandi' in West Delhi.")
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