JOHOR BARU: Imagine carrying a tote bag stitched from a nurse’s used uniform or tying your hair with a scrunchie cut from a pre-loved headscarf.
These quirky, charming items do more than spark conversations – they keep fabric out of landfills by giving discarded clothes a purposeful second life, said Kraf Hibiscus initiator Norfhairna Baharulrazi.
She said the spirit of circularity was at the heart of Kraf Hibiscus, a community initiative in the Hibiscus zone of Taman Pulai Indah that began in July under its “Kuru Kuru” programme.
“It was inspired by the Japanese concept of recirculating goods to minimise waste. With this goal in mind, we collect pre-loved clothes from the community within our residential zone and upcycle them into practical items such as tote bags, pouches, keychains, bookmarks, pen holders and hair scrunchies.
“Since we get many used nurses’ uniforms that no longer fit, our team sews them into fashionable tote bags with batik pockets.
“We even supplied them as door gifts at an event in Kuala Lumpur recently,” she said.
Norfhairna said upcycling extends the lifespan of used fabric and showcases the beauty of materials that are often taken for granted.
“When batik fabrics are repurposed into lanyards and keychains, it gives them a more practical daily use.
“Baju kurung or tudung prints, often regarded as ‘outdated’, are repurposed into hair scrunchies, giving them a new lease of life,” she said, adding that their products were particularly popular among students at the Iskandar Puteri Low Carbon Carnival last month.
Norfhairna, a senior lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s (UTM) Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, said the project first took shape through a used school uniform drive.
“Children outgrow their uniforms so quickly, and many of the old ones are still in good condition,” she said, adding that they also started collecting bags and books.
“We later expanded our pre-loved drive to include adult and children’s clothing, headscarves and traditional wear,” she said.
Norfhairna said during their first collection drive in August, about one tonne of clothes was collected.
“At our second event on Sunday, we collected over two tonnes of clothes,” she said, adding that about 30 student volunteers from UTM helped sort and arrange them according to categories.
“The pre-loved clothes will remain available to the public over the coming week, while others will be selected as upcycling materials before the remainder is sent to a fabric recycler.”
