1. GOONJ
INNOVATION VII

2. Introduction
Started in 1998 with 67 personal clothes, GOONJ was an organization which say to the clothing needs of the needy by transferring secon hand clothing to them.
Today GOONJ is channelising more than 40,000 kgs of material every month.
GOONJ has its own offices in seven cities and voluntary set-ups in few other cities. Implementation in different parts of 21 states, working with over 150 partner groups including Indian Army, Ashoka Fellows, social activists, Panchayats etc.
A five member governing body, over 300 volunteers-spread all over, headed by Anshu Gupta, an Ashoka Fellow, as the Founder Director of GOONJ.

3. Introduction
VISION
Making clothing a matter of concern as a basic need..
OBJECTIVE
Spread awareness about the concept at a level so that anytime an urban household thinks of disposing off reusable material it should have a channel to reach it to the most needy.
MISSION
Re-positioning cloth and other underutilized material, beyond charity, adding dignity and turning it into a big resource for development. Spreading the idea beyond geographical boundaries so that world over people think of clothing as a basic need and a subject to work on..

4. The Problem
Absence of culture and mechanism to transfer excess and unused material from rich to poor.
35% population in India impoverished with unfulfilled basic needs of shelter,food and clothing.
Existing donations not in sync with regional differences
Regular collecting agencies not capable enough to meet end user demands.
No credible system of sustainable collection.
India will have more than 40 per cent, i.e. over 400 million people, clustered in cities over the next thirty years (UN, 1995). Modern urban living brings on the problem of waste, which increases in quantity, and changes in composition with each passing day.
India will probably see a rise in waste generation from less than 40,000 metric tonnes per year to over 125,000 metric tonnes by the year 2030 (Srishti, 2000).

5. Problem

• Rural poverty a pressing concern and is caused by the lack of opportunities and resources