Who would have thought that discarded plastic bottles and single-use plastic bags can be converted into footwear? But for Ashay Bhave, a 23-year-old entrepreneur, this was an opportunity that wasn’t going to be wasted. Ashay Bhave started to manufacture shoes out of segregated waste which includes plastic bottles and single-use plastic bags. His brand Thaley caters to the environment conscious. A single shoe is made out of 10 plastic bags and 12 plastic bottles. 

“I studied footwear design and I have been interested in sneakers all my life.I was working on several design projects while I was in college and one of them was Thaely, so I wanted to create a way to recycle plastic bag and convert them into something that’s usable,” said Bhave.

The product is 100% vegan PETA certified and the fabrics have Global Recycling Standard (GRS) certification. In Bhave’s own words the business is running pretty good, “people are very interested in the idea and very impressed by what we have done.”