Most of us see piles of plastic bottles, containers and scrap as mere garbage to be given away. But, this sister duo, Archana Mohod and Bhavana Thanekar, see this as an opportunity to upcycle used plastic and turn it into something colourful and useful.
Cryptic Hues, their venture was started three years ago with the motive to transform all that we perceive as useless into innovative handy items that can be used for both gifting and regular use. Projects like this are crucial if we want to start reversing the damage we’ve done to the environment, and hopefully they will grow to become huge movements that have a big impact. Nowadays, there are social impact resources available to those who want to start a project like this and see it develop into something big.
With a background in science, these sisters have always been passionate about saving the environment and going green by taking small steps, “I was in the IT industry and Archana has a PhD in microbiology. It really bothers us when people accumulate plastic in the form of boxes or cups. It isn’t safe for the children or for the environment. We started making eco-friendly products as a hobby and would gift small trinkets to our friends on special occasions. Whenever I’d go hunt for return gifts, the only options were Chinese plastic items. The kids would only play with it once and then it ends up in the landfill.”
Working with their creative minds to think out-of-the-box, the Cryptic Hues founders have made various colourful products out of plastic bottles, wine bottles, kettles, discarded wood, coconut shells and watering cans. These handmade products, after being cleaned, are then transformed into different items like planters, key holders, jute bags, pouches, coasters, paintings, lamps, bird feeders and pencil stands.
“The planters that aren’t used are burnt or sold to the kabbadiwalas. We thought that we’d buy all the used planters and oil cans from them to upcycle them. In this way, we are able to provide people with several options if they want to gift something that is sustainable. Initially, it was really difficult to convince people to shift to sustainable products. But now people slowly understand why it is necessary to reduce plastic usage,” says Thanekar.
When it comes to awareness about the environment, explains Mohod, there are many people who aren’t willing to spend on sustainable products, “Sometimes people don’t believe that our products are made from plastic bottles and our designs are unique so they go and hunt for such things outside and later come back to us. It’s a big encouragement when people say that they haven’t seen anything like our work before. If people have a budget constraint then we give them ideas about what they can do. We are highly against the usage of virgin plastics. When we hand out planters to people, they generally request for plastic bags to carry them but that just goes against the point we’re trying to make. Instead, we hand them newspaper bags that we source from a non-profit organisation.”
From supplying to house-warming functions, birthdays and naming ceremonies to ophthalmologists and schools, Cryptic Hues has spread its wings far and wide in the city. They have also sold their products in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Orissa and Chennai through different platforms.
With their vibrant and innovative products, they are on to make everyone environmentally conscious, one step at a time.
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