To reduce carbon emissions, the students and teaching staff of Industrial Training Institute (ITI), Berhampur, Odisha, have been asked not to wear ironed uniforms once a week (every Monday) with effect from February 5. They will observe every Monday as “Wrinkle Bhi Achha Hai Day”.
This follows an order from the ITI Principal, Dr. Rajat Kumar Panigrahi after the celebration of ‘World Day For Reduction of CO2 Emissions’ on January 28.
Ironing of clothes in homes and other places consumes a tremendous amount of electricity and fossil fuel, resulting in huge CO2 (Carbon dioxide) emissions in the Earth’s atmosphere. On average, one 2000-watt electric iron consumes around 0.5 kwh of electricity if used for 15 minutes, and this comes to 15 kwh a month. Normally, if people wear two pieces of clothes, it takes 5 to 7 minutes to iron one piece. This will result in CO2 emission of roughly 200 grams.
Dr Panigrahi says that if this average is followed, the entire country will be emitting 250 million grams of CO2 in one day due to the ironing of clothes. Since most of India’s electricity is derived from coal, one unit of electricity results in one kg of CO2 emission. ‘If we decide not to iron our clothes for one day, we can save 250 million units of electricity across India daily’ he added.
“Not ironing uniforms once a week is one small step, but it can be the harbinger of a new beginning that can impact environmental protection”, he said. ITI Berhampur has nearly 3,500 students and 140 teaching and non-teaching staff, and they have been allowed to wear uniforms with wrinkles on Monday.
Dr Panigrahi says, “Ironing clothes has become a daily habit for all of us since we are expected to look neat at work or in schools or colleges. But is it really necessary to wear ironed clothes throughout the year? Do you know what will happen if 1.4 billion people in India decide to wear non-ironed clothes for just one day in terms of saving energy and reducing carbon emissions?”.
A valid point, though. “Wrinkle Bhi Accha Hai” can be the first step towards this end. ‘We are motivating our students and staff to accept this slogan and follow it in their dress code’, he added.
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