Don’t wear ironed clothes on Mondays to fight climate change, CSIR tells staff

A circular in this regard was sent by the CSIR HQ to all its labs recently, sources in the know told The Indian Express. Further participation post May 15 will be decided in due course.

The circular dated May 3, 2024, issued by CSIR and Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Chennai, stated, “The challenge requires to refrain from wearing ironed clothes at least one day in a week, which means, actually not ironing clothes as also to embrace wrinkles to reduce energy consumption and show collective commitment to environment sustainability.”

The circular explained how ironing clothes was adding to the carbon dioxide emissions. “An iron takes about 800 – 1200 Watts of power to operate, which is 20-30 times more than the power taken by a bulb. 74 per cent electricity in India is produced using coal. Ironing one pair of clothes for a family of five (using an iron for 30-60 minutes) can thus result in the emission of one kg of carbon dioxide,” the circular stated.

Ironically, CLRI works with the leather industry, one of the largest polluters among industries. Moreover, many of the CSIR labs routinely make use of large volumes of chemicals which are both harmful and polluting.

Mumbai-based Energy Swaraj Foundation, founded by Chetan Singh Solanki, a professor at the Energy Science and Engineering department of IIT-Bombay and entrepreneur, had launched ‘Wrinkles Achche Hai’ earlier this month. The Foundation believes in Mission LiFE, that is Lifestyle for Environment, a mass movement by India showcasing the country’s dedicated efforts and simple acts in daily lives with ‘significant’ potential to contribute towards fighting climate change.

CSIR was founded by noted scientist Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar in 1942 to bring industry and scientific institutions to work in tandem in the country. Some of the CSIR labs are as old as India and have made noted discoveries and scientific contributions, among the famous ones being the indelible ink used in the country’s electoral process.