Chirãyu: A love letter to the Earth
About
We toss out clothes without a second thought. Once they’re gone, we don’t think about where they end up or what happens next. And it doesn’t start with us. Before a garment even reaches the shelf, factories are already discarding fabric scraps from production. That waste doesn’t degrade any faster. It just piles up quietly, before the product ever hits the market. At every stage of textile production, fabric scraps are generated and often discarded. At the same time, consumers are largely unaware of the environmental impact behind the products they purchase, creating a disconnect between waste generation and responsible consumption.
This project set out to explore how these discarded textile scraps could be given a second life through packaging design. The challenge was not only to repurpose waste into a meaningful product but also to create an experience. By applying principles of circular design, the project aims to make sustainability more tangible, accessible, and to be consciously consumed. Beyond creating a decorative object, it encourages users to rethink the value of discarded materials and develop a more conscious relationship with consumption.
Designed for target audience aged 18-35, that include young urban consumers, creatively inclined individuals, for gifting, to understand the importance of mending things and how family members belonging across generations could bond over it.
The Story behind how I view this issue:
Whenever I visited Kerala, my grandmother’s stitching tools sat in a faded blue cookie box. She mended clothes for as long as the fabric would last. My mother does the same, a habit handed down. Every cloth holds a memory: a gift, a grandmother’s saree, an outfit from a special day. In India, it is almost like a tradition to use things until the very end. Today, we just buy new. And most of that fabric is synthetic, taking centuries to break down. Which makes me think, how much can the Earth bear? When it can no longer be worn, can its pieces become something meaningful to keep?
Result
Chirãyu: A love letter to the Earth (translates to long life), is a kit for making something new from what is close to your heart, or from the small scraps discarded before they ever reach your hands. (the first kit, in the series is a “make your own lamp”) It is built on circularity and sustainability, and even its package is designed to live a second life, hence increasing the product lifecycle. Taking inspiration from the shape and form of a cupboard, the drawers contain different elements and tools which can be used for making different products. Initiating the concept of mending old fabric, through a product which could enable the newer generation to bring back sustainability was the key concept.
Circular Design | Crafted | Indie | Nurturing | Narrative Style