Amid the great hustle and bustle of Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Tzu Chi Center for Compassionate Relief, located in the heart of New York City, has a fascinating new addition to its first floor. Graciously welcoming visitors to the display area for DA.AI Technology is none other than an image of the venerable Dharma Master Cheng Yen — founder of the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation — as she holds up a plastic bottle. This image is a gentle reminder to all that we have a crucial mission to uphold for our planet. Indeed, we each can strive to be more aware of our impact on Mother Earth and can begin by practicing proper recycling at home.
Inspiring thousands throughout the years, Dharma Master Cheng Yen has encouraged individuals far and wide to “coexist with the Earth.” And thus, Tzu Chi volunteers uphold their environmental and social responsibilities by practicing Earth-friendly lifestyles through conservation of resources, vegetarian eating, and cultivating genuine compassion for all sentient beings.
DA.AI operates under the basis that although more people engaging in proper recycling is wonderful and certainly benefits Mother Earth, not using plastic is even better. It is furthermore DA.AI Technology’s mission is to “Turn trash into gold, gold into love, love into a purifying stream, and surround the globe with it.” This goal is accomplished with the aid of thousands of Tzu Chi environmental volunteers who diligently collect and sort raw polyethylene terephthalate (PET) materials, which are then transformed into DA.AI Tech yarn, and woven into an array of durable textiles. This provides a tangible solution for the excessive amount of municipal plastic waste that pollutes Earth’s oceans, litters communities, and harms wildlife, transforming what was once only seen as a problem into a resource, while also minimizing the consumption of natural resources.
When it comes to DA.AI’s compassionate technology, their most well-known eco-product is undoubtedly the soft and warm blanket that Tzu Chi volunteers have distributed during humanitarian aid missions for over a decade worldwide. The revelation that such comfort can come from 100% recycled PET plastic water bottles never fails to amaze and the knowledge of just how much love goes into each and every thread offers warmth even beyond the physical.
Please join us in New York to witness DA.AI’s innovation for yourself.