IFD's innovative beutification draws public attention
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Sobhapati Samom

Imphal, November 07 2008: WITH THE hope of creating awareness on pollution 'loud and clear', Institute of Fashion Design, Manipur has taken up the initiative to find alternative ways to beautify the surrounding environment instead of littering by re-using the "used materials".

Thus this barely two years old fashion institute situated at Chajing village in Manipur's Imphal west district has started to demonstrate the innovative ideas of reusing the mineral water bottles etc.

According to eminent American writer Catherine C Fox,for every six water bottles we use, only one makes it to the recycling bin.

The rest are sent to landfills.

Or, even worse, they end up as trash on the land and in rivers, lakes, and the ocean.

Plastic bottles take many hundreds of years to disintegrate.

Girls relaxing under the innovative mushroom shades

Considering it's impact in the environment and it's affordability, IFD students under the initiative of their Director Yengkhom Daevson, a fashion hardware designer,started to convert used plastic bottles into decorative items in their campus instead of going out with the trash.

"The main idea behind this initiative is to find alternative ways to beautify or decorate our surrounding with modern days used materials instead of littering it" says Devson.

Like rest of the country, every gathering here in this economically backward state used mineral water bottles as if it is the purest form of water.

In fact, people love the convenience of bottled water not the side effects of using it.

But many disposed off the empty bottles in the unplanned garbage sites.

"I'm afraid as we've been using of dozens of mineral water bottles in the functions or festivals as a trend which results unplanned disposing of these bottles causing environmental pollution"he said adding "So, before it is too late I would like to create some attention in my state".

Thus to combat pollution for a "Clean Manipur" campaign,4th batch students of the institute took more than a month to complete three waiting sheds structures in the shape of half submerged snail (Tharoi), mushroom (Cheng-gum) and oyster (Kong-greng).

The students collected these used bottles from the local functions and even from restaurants as part of their Saturday activities.

Besides this,they also collected many waste items like cover of eatable items instead of littering around for making many usable products which was displayed in a show recently, Tanuja Heisnam, a teacher of the institute told this reporter.

The beautification of the institution with simple innovative ideas not only attracts the students but the locals used to take a break at the waiting sheds everyday.

Appreciating the move, Loken Pukhrambam, a resident of Chajing Awang Leikai said, "such beautiful ideas of utilizing used materials prompted us to do something even in our own courtyard besides handing over the used plastic bottles to them (institute)".

"Our suppliers mostly restaurants owners who once supply plastic bottles free of cost in the past now want to sell after seeing the activities here" echoes Laishram Ongbi Manitombi, another well wisher of the institution which plans to organize a plastic bottle and waste materials made product competition among the students community in the near future.