Social entrepreneur Sanju Soman, suggested upcycling of cloth as a possible solution to address increasing rates of pollution caused by cloth dumping. Stepping in, ATREE started a project and trained local women to make bags out of saris. The first set of bags were made for ATREE’s 20th anniversary, for which 50-odd local women made about 700 bags out of 250 plus saris in a span of 15 days.