Ashay Bhave, India’s newest green entrepreneur, founded the company. Which has successfully recycled tonnes of plastic waste into thousands of pairs of shoes in less than six months of operation.
Bhave’s ‘Thaely’ sneakers have been helping to alleviate the environmental problem since July 2021 by repurposing material from over 50000 plastic carry bags and 35000 wasted plastic bottles.
In 2017, the 23-year-old came up with the concept while studying for a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA). In Hindi, the company name Thaely’ literally translates to “plastic carry bags. He got the concept from a design project he worked on in college. Now, the young entrepreneur has turned the concept into a profitable and long-term company strategy.
While ‘Thaely’ is a relative newcomer in the billion-dollar sneaker business dominated by behemoths like Nike and Puma. The firm has great intentions and hopes to begin selling its shoes in European and American retail locations shortly.
Ashay Bhave’s Thaely shoes, which are entirely comprised of waste plastic and rubber, were spurred by success at the Eureka business pitch competition at Amity University Dubai in 2019. This aided Bhave in obtaining financing to build on a prototype. His sneaker design is influenced by the early 2000s basketball sneaker vogue.
Ashay’s new venture obtains raw materials from a waste management organization. With the use of heat and pressure, plastic bags are converted into a fabric known as ThaelyTex. After then, the cloth is cut into shoe designs. Plastic bottles recycled as PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) fabric are used for lining, shoelaces, packaging, and other items.