BENGALURU: The jacket that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wore in Parliament on Wednesday, made from recycled plastic bottles, will be available in major cities within three months, said Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) chairman S M Vaidya, on the sidelines of the ongoing India Energy Week 2023 in Bengaluru.
Under the ‘Unbottled’ initiative of Indian Oil, the Prime Minister on Monday had launched the uniforms made from recycled plastic at the ongoing India Energy Week 2023 in Bengaluru. In an interview with ANI, the IOCL chairman said that within three months, jacket made by recycled plastic waste bottle will be available to all people.
People will be able to buy the jacket at the retail outlets of oil marketing companies (OMC) such as IOCL, BPCL and HPCL. Vaidya said that recycled products will not be limited to just to oil marketing companies or army personnels. By wearing the jacket, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a very big statement and about recycling plastic bottle waste, he said.
“While inaugurating India Energy Week, the PM has given the mantra of reduce, reuse and recycle. This jacket is an example that how can we reduce the consumption of fresh polymer and promote recycling”, Vaidya said. The PM wearing such a jacket will raise recycling to a new level, he felt.
“We had started the uniform made from used plastic bottle to spread this initiative. The OMCs have a total of 70,000 outlets in India. We want to spread the message of recycling to every household. The PM took this initiative to the next level”, Vaidya added.
During the India Energy Week launch event, PM Modi had linked India’s effort for Green Growth and Energy Transition with Indian values of where the circular economy is part of every Indian’s lifestyle and Reduce, Reuse and Recycle are part of the culture. He said initiatives of recycling plastic bottles into uniforms will strengthen Mission LiFE.
Indian Oil is taking this initiative further through ‘Unbottled’, a brand for sustainable garments launched for merchandise made from recycled polyester. Under this brand, Indian Oil targets to meet the requirement of uniforms for the customer attendants of other oil marketing companies, non-combat uniforms for the Army, uniforms/dresses for institutions and sales to retail customers.
At the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had committed to an ambitious five-part ‘Panchamrit’ pledge, including reaching 500 GW of non-fossil electricity capacity, to generate half of all energy requirements from renewables, to reduce emissions by 1 billion tons by 2030.
India also aims to reduce the emissions intensity of GDP by 45 per cent. Finally, India has committed to net-zero emissions by 2070. Notably, India banned several single-use plastics starting July 2022. Single-use plastics are typically items that are discarded after being used only once and do not go through the recycling process. (ANI)