Hindustan Times launches an initiative to curb plastic use.

Hindustan Times, in collaboration with adidas and M3M, has launched an initiative – #ReduceTheUse. On October 23, 2019, the newspaper released two full page ads on the last couple of pages of the Hindustan Times Delhi edition highlighting how readers could participate in reducing the use of plastic and encourage recycling.

The advertisement harps on how adidas has used technology to convert plastic bottles into high performance sportswear. The ad ends with instructions on how to convert the newspaper into a paper bag. That’s not all, if you’d walk into an adidas store with the recycled paper bag, you could bag some huge discounts on sports products.

Readers were also urged to take a picture of the paper bag and upload it on social media with the hashtag #ReduceTheUse. The post would be registered by the newspaper as a pledge to reduce plastic waste.

The campaign has created a buzz on Twitter. Here are some of the best reactions:

Lovely campaign HT has run this morning ..... to battle single use plastic #reducetheuse @narendramodi @HT_Ed pic.twitter.com/aMrAF0EY9L

— Praveen Someshwar (@psomeshw) October 24, 2019

Open today's @htTweets newspaper & you would notice an ad by @adidas appealing to #ReduceTheUse of plastic by making a paper bag out of the ad. The brand incentivises customers with huge discounts on its products by bringing the bag to the nearest #adidas store. Nice one! pic.twitter.com/SguglqbKKy

— Viren M. Vesuwala (@viren_vesuwala) October 23, 2019

#reducetheuse @htTweets
Small steps to a larger goal. Let's do our bit.. pic.twitter.com/YD3Kaa6l1S

— Paridhi Jain (@paridhijain) October 25, 2019

Being a student of Development communication and a responsible citizen of India, I stand with @htTweets cause #ReduceTheUse for minimal usage of Plastic. @htTweets good step for generating awareness. 👏 pic.twitter.com/G5mn2OWJHu

— Bhavna Verma (@BhavnaV79015183) October 24, 2019

#ReduceTheUse Pledge to give plastics a miss. pic.twitter.com/rxCtp4YmrP

— Prasad Sanyal (@PrasadScribe) October 24, 2019

2 in 2!! Loving this initiative by @htTweets @HindustanTimes on #ReduceTheUse of plastic bags and move towards a sustainable future#YouthForSustainability pic.twitter.com/QA8O1ZB9vz

— Nikhil Kamath (@nikhil_kamath20) October 24, 2019

.@htTweets Me & my paper bag courtesy Hindustan Times.#ReduceTheUse#adidas
Go, take your pledge to reduce the plastic use now... pic.twitter.com/mjppiJrTZQ

— SandeepVarma (@sandeepvarma15) October 23, 2019