KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — In an effort to tackle food waste during Ramadan, anti-food waste initiative MySaveFood has launched #BazirRamadan, with a Raya fashion collection made entirely from unsold and discarded food from Ramadan bazaars.
The organisation said the initiative seeks to raise awareness about the massive food waste produced during the holy month.
“‘Bazar’, the Malay language equivalent for bazaar, is only one letter away from ‘bazir’, meaning waste. Hence, #BazirRamadan was born.
“In 2024 alone, more than 60,000kg of food was wasted at 147 Ramadan bazaars, enough to feed 120,000 people,” the organisation said in a statement today.
The organisation further said that this year, it drew inspiration from the Malay slang ‘pesen’, meaning habit or style and derived from the word “fashion,” to design what it describes as its “trashiest” collection to date.
Drawing parallels to the annual launch of new baju Raya collections by local fashion houses, it said that the initiative used waste materials to make a bold statement about food wastage.
The #BazirRamadan collection was launched via a red-carpeted ‘trashwalk’ featuring spokesperson Brozir and his friends strutting down the Pantai Dalam Ramadan Bazaar in a specially-designed suit made out of discarded food waste from bazaars. — Picture courtesy of MySaveFood
“The #BazirRamadan collection was launched via a red-carpeted ‘trashwalk’ featuring Brozir, our spokesperson, and his friends strutting down the Pantai Dalam Ramadan Bazaar in a specially-designed suit made out of discarded food waste from bazaars,” it said.
In the statement, MySaveFood deputy director Ainul A’syara Kamal also said that food waste during Ramadan remains a recurring issue.
She then explained that although many recognise the problem, few take steps to address it, which prompted the organisation to pursue such an approach.
“Food waste during Ramadan has always been a long-standing issue. People are aware of it, but few take action. That is why we decided to take a bold and unconventional approach,” she added.
For the past nine years, MySaveFood has worked closely with Ramadan bazaar vendors to salvage and redistribute unsold food.
As of March 16, the initiative’s volunteers have successfully gathered 46,208kg of surplus food from 108 Ramadan bazaars across Malaysia, with an estimated value of RM599,100.
This rescued food was then distributed to those in need.
The organisation is continuing its efforts by actively seeking volunteers through the #BazirRamadan initiative, encouraging more people to participate in distributing surplus meals and spreading awareness about food waste.