In her interview with Turmush, Aizada shared that she is involved in recycling fabric scraps left over from the work of sewing workshops. Previously, such waste was simply thrown away or burned, but over the past year, a group of women, including Aizada, has started turning them into useful products.
With 15 years of sewing experience, Aizada participated in a textile recycling project that inspired her to achieve new things. Over the course of a year, the team sewed backpacks from leftover fabrics. “At first, we didn’t think about sales; we just worked for pleasure. We made arrangements with sewing workshops at the market in Bishkek, and they began sending us scraps. Sewing a backpack from a photo seemed easy, but in practice, it turned out to be more complicated than we expected. Nevertheless, we didn’t give up. By being creative, we were able to use even the smallest pieces of fabric. For example, remnants of curtains and coat fabrics combined perfectly. Over time, we improved our sewing skills, although sometimes we had to redo one bag 5–6 times,” she shares.
Many sewing workshops previously simply burned or discarded fabric remnants. Some were wary of requests to hand over scraps. “Some said, ‘Our fabrics are too expensive; we can’t just give them away; it’s better to burn them.’ There were also those who feared that we might use their ideas. But there were also those who were happy that the waste would be used beneficially instead of going to the landfill. Now many workshops we work with set aside scraps for us, and we collect them. Recycling is better than burning or throwing away,” Aizada adds.
The team also participates in exhibitions where they can sell their products. Their bags cost up to 2000 soms. Over the year, they focused on creating bags and backpacks, and now they have started sewing skirts.
According to Aizada, the key point is the ability to use textile remnants with imagination and a creative approach.
