Reliance Industries is converting used plastic bottles into clothes. The conglomerate which has its roots in the polyester business aims at making sustainable clothing affordable and accessible. The company is already processing two billion used PET bottles every year and plans to scale it up to six billion in two years. Reliance already has an umbrella brand, R|Elan, for eco-friendly fiber made from used plastic. The manufacturing process is aimed at reducing carbon footprint at every stage by using biofuels and pre-dyed fibers, which eliminate the water and chemical discharge from wet dyeing. The strategy is to manufacture co-branded apparels and Reliance has already partnered with Arrow, Wrangler, Raymond, Lee, among other international brands.

Consumers in developed countries are embracing ethical or sustainable fashion, and are even ready to pay a premium for it. The Indian buyer, though, is still very price conscious. So as a strategy Reliance is selling the sustainable fiber on the basis of attributes that it will provide to the clothing made from it at a price competitive to non-sustainable products with the same attributes. Global brands are making everything from swimwear to winter wear to backpacks with recycled material. India can catch up soon if it looks at its waste as a resource.