The Quiet Art of Giving Things a Second Life
- by: Jatin Chaudhary
Every culture has its own way of saving what still has life left in it. A piece of cloth turned into a kitchen rag. A cracked bowl mended with care. A shirt stitched again and again until it feels softer than new. Long before words like sustainability or upcycling were fashionable, people simply knew how to make things last. That quiet instinct to reuse, to repair, to give another chance is where dwij finds its meaning.
“dwij means ‘second life’ in Sanskrit,” says Soumya Kalluri, the founder of the Mumbai-based social enterprise. “That’s what we try to give to materials the world has already given up on.”
Soumya began dwij in 2018 with a simple idea: to turn old jeans into something beautiful, useful, and lasting. Today, the brand transforms post-consumer and post-industrial denim into design-driven products such as bags, totes, jewelry, home décor, and handcrafted toys. “We rescue what would otherwise end up in landfills or be incinerated,” she explains. “Every piece is upcycled with care, either in our own workshop or by women from self-help groups who earn additional income through the work.”
Her path to building dwij did not begin in fashion. A mechanical engineer by training, she first explored sustainability during her Master’s in Commercial Vehicle Technology in Germany. “My post-graduation thesis was on the Life Cycle Assessment of commercial vehicles,” she recalls. “That’s when I realized how important it is to think about the end of life of a material. Sustainability does not stop at production; it continues long after something leaves the factory.”
In Germany, she also saw a version of consumerism that felt effortless yet troubling. “Donation boxes were everywhere,” she says. “It was easy to buy more, wear something a few times, and drop it off feeling guilt-free. When I came back to India and studied the textile waste problem, I realized we needed better answers, not just for waste but for awareness.”
dwij became that answer. Inside its Mumbai workshop, the air carries the sound of scissors slicing through faded denim and the hum of sewing machines steadying into rhythm. “No two dwij products are identical,” Soumya says. “Each one has its own story, its own texture, its own shade of blue.” Every piece is prewashed in industrial washers, ensuring it is hygienic and strong. Every element, from stitch to strap to button, is chosen to last.
Since inception, dwij has upcycled more than 15,000 pairs of jeans, 2,500 meters of post-industrial denim, and 1,000 meters of recycled PET felt fabric. “It is equivalent to taking 883 electric cars off the road for a year,” Soumya says. “Or planting over 16,000 tree seedlings and nurturing them for a decade.” The company is certified by the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, and incubated at NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore.
What makes dwij distinct is its culture. “We encourage skill development,” Soumya says. “A tailor can suggest a new design. A designer can help with social media. It is a flat structure where learning is continuous.” The result is a brand that feels small in structure but expansive in spirit, part workshop, part design studio, part community.
Soumya has noticed a shift in what customers seek. “People today want products with stories,” she says. “They are looking for things that feel personal, functional, and thoughtful. Our goal is to create designs that reflect that, products that carry emotion as much as utility.” dwij’s bags, accessories, and home pieces reflect a quiet confidence with minimalist silhouettes, strong textures, and subtle color palettes that make sustainability feel stylish rather than moral.
The journey has required patience and persistence. “Sourcing post-consumer jeans in a scalable and hygienic way took time. Many people still equate upcycling with lower quality,” Soumya shares. “But we kept refining one process, one pattern, one perception at a time. Sustainability takes patience. It is about persistence more than perfection.”
As dwij grows, Soumya is exploring how traditional Indian crafts can merge with circular design. “We have started with denim,” she says. “Next, we are bringing in hand embroidery, appliqué, and other artisanal techniques. There is so much beauty in giving something old a touch of craft and a second story.”
Toward the end of our conversation, she looks at a stack of newly finished bags waiting to be shipped. “When we create something from what others throw away,” she says softly, “we are not just saving fabric. We are learning to pause, to notice, and to value what already exists.”
And that is what makes dwij more than a sustainability brand. It is a design philosophy disguised as a workshop. A reminder that innovation is not always about invention; sometimes it is about attention. The future may not lie in what we build next but in how we choose to keep what we already have.
“dwij means ‘second life’ in Sanskrit,” says Soumya Kalluri, the founder of the Mumbai-based social enterprise. “That’s what we try to give to materials the world has already given up on.”
Soumya began dwij in 2018 with a simple idea: to turn old jeans into something beautiful, useful, and lasting. Today, the brand transforms post-consumer and post-industrial denim into design-driven products such as bags, totes, jewelry, home décor, and handcrafted toys. “We rescue what would otherwise end up in landfills or be incinerated,” she explains. “Every piece is upcycled with care, either in our own workshop or by women from self-help groups who earn additional income through the work.”
Her path to building dwij did not begin in fashion. A mechanical engineer by training, she first explored sustainability during her Master’s in Commercial Vehicle Technology in Germany. “My post-graduation thesis was on the Life Cycle Assessment of commercial vehicles,” she recalls. “That’s when I realized how important it is to think about the end of life of a material. Sustainability does not stop at production; it continues long after something leaves the factory.”
In Germany, she also saw a version of consumerism that felt effortless yet troubling. “Donation boxes were everywhere,” she says. “It was easy to buy more, wear something a few times, and drop it off feeling guilt-free. When I came back to India and studied the textile waste problem, I realized we needed better answers, not just for waste but for awareness.”
dwij became that answer. Inside its Mumbai workshop, the air carries the sound of scissors slicing through faded denim and the hum of sewing machines steadying into rhythm. “No two dwij products are identical,” Soumya says. “Each one has its own story, its own texture, its own shade of blue.” Every piece is prewashed in industrial washers, ensuring it is hygienic and strong. Every element, from stitch to strap to button, is chosen to last.
Since inception, dwij has upcycled more than 15,000 pairs of jeans, 2,500 meters of post-industrial denim, and 1,000 meters of recycled PET felt fabric. “It is equivalent to taking 883 electric cars off the road for a year,” Soumya says. “Or planting over 16,000 tree seedlings and nurturing them for a decade.” The company is certified by the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, and incubated at NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore.
What makes dwij distinct is its culture. “We encourage skill development,” Soumya says. “A tailor can suggest a new design. A designer can help with social media. It is a flat structure where learning is continuous.” The result is a brand that feels small in structure but expansive in spirit, part workshop, part design studio, part community.
Soumya has noticed a shift in what customers seek. “People today want products with stories,” she says. “They are looking for things that feel personal, functional, and thoughtful. Our goal is to create designs that reflect that, products that carry emotion as much as utility.” dwij’s bags, accessories, and home pieces reflect a quiet confidence with minimalist silhouettes, strong textures, and subtle color palettes that make sustainability feel stylish rather than moral.
The journey has required patience and persistence. “Sourcing post-consumer jeans in a scalable and hygienic way took time. Many people still equate upcycling with lower quality,” Soumya shares. “But we kept refining one process, one pattern, one perception at a time. Sustainability takes patience. It is about persistence more than perfection.”
As dwij grows, Soumya is exploring how traditional Indian crafts can merge with circular design. “We have started with denim,” she says. “Next, we are bringing in hand embroidery, appliqué, and other artisanal techniques. There is so much beauty in giving something old a touch of craft and a second story.”
Toward the end of our conversation, she looks at a stack of newly finished bags waiting to be shipped. “When we create something from what others throw away,” she says softly, “we are not just saving fabric. We are learning to pause, to notice, and to value what already exists.”
And that is what makes dwij more than a sustainability brand. It is a design philosophy disguised as a workshop. A reminder that innovation is not always about invention; sometimes it is about attention. The future may not lie in what we build next but in how we choose to keep what we already have.
