Our Story
The story of our brand is a not-so-typical one. It is perhaps more unsuspecting than the materials we use to create the art forms that are incorporated into our products. What started out as a group of guys solving India's waste management problem and recognizing resourceful creativity of women around them, has evolved into a women-led livelihoods initiative that is empowering rural women and changing the face of up-cycling in India. Our name, “Bhayli” (which means “female friend” in Marwari), is an intentional nod to our roots in rural Rajasthan and represents the incredible women who are showing the world the potential of waste as a valuable resource. Bhayli has joined ECOWRAP (our parent organization) in their vision "Mera desh, zero waste" as we create beautiful new products from the post-consumed materials they collect; bringing you unique items with an even more unique story.
The Journey From Waste to Weave
At local businesses that partner with ECOWRAP, single-use plastic bottles are segregated in the proper provided dustbins by trained housekeeping staff. When the bins are ready for collection, housekeeping staff schedule a pickup on ECOWRAP's mobile app. The bottles are then picked up and taken to ECOWRAP's warehouse.
From ECOWRAP’s warehouse, the collected bottles are sorted and delivered to the location of our creative partners. There, our creative partners remove the labels, wash, and sanitize the bottles in preparation to be cut. Once dry, the bottles are stripped into "cane" and go through a quality control process to ensure the "cane" is consistent and ready to be woven. Any unused scraps are sent back to ECOWRAP to be recycled.
Our creative partners carefully weave the "cane" through a six step process. If any error is made, the pattern is lost. Creating a simple 12"x12" square of woven "cane"work, requires 1,176 precise movements and is usually completed within 4-6 hours.
Once complete, the "cane"work is ready to be turned into its final product, be it one of our own products or something we have custom designed for another business or brand. Our design choices highlight the work of our creative partners. It is at this point we see an idea or concept finally come together.
Once finished, the product is ready to be hand-packed using recyclable materials and shipped to continue its journey. Some of our products continue their life within India, while others get exported abroad to continue their story there.
We love it when our products return to the very hotel, bar, restaurant, or cafe the bottles originally came from, or when they end up in the hands of individuals who never imagined something beautiful could come from waste. Whomever they continue their journey with, we love seeing their life beyond the landfill.
The Journey From Trash to Tile
At local businesses that partner with ECOWRAP, beverage cans are segregated in the proper provided dustbins by trained housekeeping staff. When the bins are ready for collection, housekeeping staff schedule a pickup on ECOWRAP's mobile app. The beverage cans are then picked up and taken to ECOWRAP’s warehouse.
The collected beverage cans are transported from ECOWRAP’s warehouse to the location of our creative partners. There, our creative partners wash and sanitize the cans in preparation to be cut. Once dry, the cans are cut into squares and quality checked to ensure they are the proper size. Any unused scraps are sent back to ECOWRAP to be recycled.
Once cut, the tiles go through a 3 step process of impressing, embossing, and outlining to create the perfect imprint. This process takes around 20 minutes per tile. Once the tiles are embossed, our creative partners carefully punch and stitch each of them by hand; giving them a final pop of color.
Once complete, the tiles are quality checked again before being pieced together and turned into their final product. This is where we see the handiwork of our creative partners bring a piece to life. Finished products are then listed online, taken with us to a pop-up shops, or delivered to our retail partners.
Once purchased online or in-person, our products are hand-packed using recyclable materials and make their way to their new home.
We love it when our products become a topic of conversation in hotel lobbies or when they end up in the hands of individuals traveling India who are socially and environmentally conscious of the footprint they are leaving behind. Our products have a story to tell, an incredible one, about how women are using waste as resource to further their dreams.