: 16-YO Turns 1400 Pairs of Old Jeans into Sleeping Bags For the Homeless in Delhi #IndiaNEWS #Environment Did you ever wonder about the environment or the cost of fast fashion as a teenager? Most of

16-YO Turns 1400 Pairs of Old Jeans into Sleeping Bags For the Homeless in Delhi #IndiaNEWS #Environment
Did you ever wonder about the environment or the cost of fast fashion as a teenager? Most of us didn’t. But 16-year-old Nirvaan Somany read a staggering statistic that left him deeply concerned about the environment.

The Class 11 student from the national capital has embarked on an endeavour called Project Jeans, by which he is converting old denims to sleeping bags for street dwellers in Delhi.

Why? According to the United Nations, 10,000 litres of water are needed to make a single pair of jeans. Let’s understand just how much water that is.

According to the Ministry of Jal Shakti, urban areas should receive 135 litres of water per person per day, and rural households should receive 55 litres per person per day. This means that on average, if we consume roughly 100 litres per day, 10,000 litres is the water one person uses in India for 100 days. In rural areas, this same number would be used for almost 180 days.

So, a pair of jeans is made using the total water one person can consume over 180 days.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Project Jeans Blue to Green (@project_jeans)

Shaken to his core after reading this alarming statistic, in 2019, Nirvaan decided to pitch a solution at the then forthcoming Young Entrepreneurs Academy.

“When I participated in YA, I came up with the idea of making sleeping bags out of old jeans. I thought that if I could do something good using old jeans, it would help the environment,??? Nirvaan tells The Better India.

Making the most of waste denims

Old jeans collected by Nirvaan Somanys Project Jeans

Having seen his family donate jackets to the homeless and those on the streets, he immediately thought of something along similar lines.

“Since denim has very good insulating properties, I thought of making sleeping bags with it. Denim is very strong and never gets old. Instead of throwing it, we can get good use out of it, while providing comfort from the harsh Delhi winters,??? he explains.

While his initial idea was a business pitch, the teen decided to go ahead with his plan earlier this year. As his mother is in the clothing business, he had easy access to someone knowledgeable in the business.

Over the past six months, he has collected over 1,400 pairs of jeans.

These sleeping bags are ready to be distributed

To make a sleeping bag, he needs seven. “We first have to cut the belt portion of the jeans and the legs are cut down further into strips. A lining of cloth is added to the denim, and then a layer of foam is given for insulation,??? adds Nirvaan.