A project to promote an environment worth living in

Dibella has launched the unique pilot project “Clean and Green Village” in India. It is committed to waste recycling concepts and clean nature in the organic cotton growing areas. The initiative carried out via the GoodTextiles Foundation is open to companies wishing to become involved in environmental education in India’s rural areas.

Raising awareness of the need for a clean environment begins right at people’s own doorstep. ©Chetna

“In this country, street cleaning, waste disposal, waste separation and recycling of valuable substances are part of a functioning system. Especially in the rural regions of India, the country of origin of our organic cotton, such structures are completely lack-ing, which is why plastic waste is a big problem there,” reports Michaela Gnass, CSR Manager at Dibella. “During the Dibella entrepreneurs’ trip in winter of 2018 to the origins of our organic cotton, we noticed huge piles of torn plastic bags, crushed dis-posable bottles and shredded plastic films. During the rainy season, water collects in all this waste - a breeding ground for insects that can transmit severe diseases such as malaria. In addition, some of the waste is incinerated, producing severe smoke, or washed away by heavy monsoon rains. Each of these methods is harmful to human-kind and the environment, which is why we have launched the ‘Clean and Green Vil-lage’ funding project via the Good Textiles Foundation.”

Thinking in cycles

The first project of this kind was launched in the Adilabad and Asifabad districts, where experts from the Chetna cooperative train entire village communities and promote awareness of the need for a clean environment. Together with the residents, they also develop ways of collecting and recycling raw materials: in addition to reusing undamaged plastic bottles for hygienic storage of drinking water, existing re-sources are to be reused, collected and recycled in the best way possible. At the same time, the aim of recycling is to create new income opportunities, which will benefit the families of organic cotton farmers.

Participation model for the future

“Following the first training sessions by Chetna, children and young people in particular are committed with immense vigour for a clean, liveable environment in their village,” said Michaela Gnass. “However, the cooperative currently lacks the financial means to broaden the project’s basis and extend it to surrounding villages. As part of the ‘Clean and Green Village’ project, we support the initiative and offer sponsors the opportunity to participate in it via the GoodTextiles Foundation. Through a joint

commitment, a waste-free landscape is being created in the organic cotton growing areas. Moreover, educational initiatives for farmers in the region will be specifically promoted, thus creating a new long-term awareness of the far-sighted use of resources.”