ReFiber Launches Nationwide ‘Freedom from Unused Garments’ Drive to Promote Textile Circularity
Mumbai, August 18, 2026: As India celebrates 80 years of Independence, ReFiber, powered by OterRi, has launched a nationwide ‘Freedom from Unused Garments’ campaign to encourage people to collect and responsibly reuse, recycle and upcycle clothes lying unused in their homes.
The initiative was launched during an online stakeholder meeting attended by Ms. Vrunda Desai, Textile Commissioner, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, as the Chief Guest. ReFiber has joined hands with Tisser Artisan Trust, Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI), UNIDO and Lions International for the campaign.
A New Meaning of Freedom
Speaking at the event, Vrunda Desai highlighted the need for more responsible consumption and said that freedom should also mean freedom from wasteful consumption, inefficient use of resources and unsustainable habits.
She noted that India generates around 70 lakh tonnes of textile waste every year, with nearly 58% generated after consumer use. She stressed that discarded garments contain valuable resources, including fibre, water, energy, chemicals, transportation and human effort.
Desai also highlighted the importance of public figures in promoting reuse and upcycling, citing examples such as Alia Bhatt re-fashioning and wearing her wedding saree again.
Appreciating ReFiber’s approach, she said the platform makes garment collection simple by allowing citizens to schedule doorstep pickup of unused clothes through a digital platform.
Turning Waste into Raw Material
Dr. Megha Phansalkar, Founder of Tisser Artisan Trust, called for a change in how society views unwanted garments. Instead of treating old clothes as waste, she said they should be seen as raw material for their next journey.
CMAI President Santosh Katariya said the campaign could help reduce textile waste going to landfills while creating opportunities for recycling, upcycling and women’s empowerment.
Dr. Pankaj Kumar, National Project Coordinator at UNIDO, stressed that textile circularity must also have a financially viable business model if it is to be adopted on a larger scale. He pointed to Mumbai as a potential case study for wider national adoption.
Collection Is Only the First Step
Naveen Sainani, Hon. General Secretary, CMAI and Chairman – ESG, said the campaign is not simply about collecting unwanted clothes. The larger objective is to change consumer behaviour and help people understand that garments sitting unused in wardrobes can have another useful purpose.
Manoj Wanvari, COO of OterRi & ReFiber, said the platform aims to build a complete circular ecosystem rather than operate only as a collection service.
ReFiber has also requested the Ministry of Textiles to help connect the platform with upcyclers across India. Its ReFiber Upcycler Marketplace is designed to give recyclers and upcyclers a platform to showcase their products and create new value from recovered textiles.
Early Response from Citizens
According to ReFiber, the campaign had already received around 42 requests for post-consumer textile waste collection through its app, with the initial response coming organically.
The platform uses OterRi’s existing laundry and delivery network to provide doorstep collection. This creates a first-mile collection system where textiles can be collected directly from households and kept source-segregated for further processing.
Building a Circular Textile Ecosystem
ReFiber aims to combine digital citizen engagement, doorstep collection, source segregation, material traceability and impact reporting into a single textile circularity ecosystem.
The initiative is intended to begin with city-level demonstrations and eventually develop into a state-wide and national model for textile waste recovery.
The campaign adds a new message to India’s Independence Day celebrations: freedom from wasteful consumption and giving unused clothes a second life.
