While growing up in Mumbai in the 80’s, I did not know of single-use, disposable products like toilet paper & plastic plates. There were no fast food & take-away restaurants or supermarket chains. We grew up without plastic, with a lot less plastic at least. Later however, I witnessed the growth of consumerism & plastic consumption in India and began learning about the harmful impact of plastic on the environment. A few years ago when I moved to Athens, I was confronted with a much higher level of plastic consumption. Here in Europe, plastic is more normal and challenging to avoid. Most people don’t know or have forgotten how they lived without plastic but I have been in a position to have lived through its emergence. Maybe that made me more sensitive to its impact and inspired me to do something about it. And so I put together my knowledge of design & my love for handmade and started Théla – a plastic upcycling initiative that handcrafts products with plastic waste. At the moment, we work with discarded plastic bags, wrappers and sheets and we use two craft techniques – crochet and weaving. My name is @ditikotecha and this is the story of how I started my sustainable brand! #upcycling #sustainability #reduceplasticuse