With public interest in the damage caused by discarded plastic ramping up all over the world, Mumbai-based company, Plastindia Foundation, and its partners wanted to organise a campaign that would demonstrate the value of recycling on a big scale.

They decided a record attempt was the best way to promote their message and opted to challenge the Largest T-shirt title, making the entire item out of plastic waste.

The Indian company sourced 200,000 used PET bottles then crushed, recycled and processed them into fibre to create a whopping 4,000 kg of cloth.

A man stands on the largest t-shirt, wearing a normal-sized version

15 talented tailors from the International Knitwear Company along with 60 volunteers took on the job of sewing the material into a supersized T-shirt.

The Guinness World Records guidelines for this attempt state that the item must be to-scale so that, in theory, a giant human could wear it.

It took the team 45 days to complete, stitching different parts of the T-shirt in various warehouses across nearby towns where there was enough space to lay the cloth out.

Once it was finished, the green and white top was transported to the cricket ground at Goregaon Sports Club in Mumbai, where 120 volunteers spent three days laying it out and making the final touches.

Official Guinness World Records adjudicator Swapnil Dangarikar was invited along to measure the T-shirt, with the help of a professional surveyor.

Hundreds of guests watched the process with bated breath, but finally Swapnil was able to confirm that the T-shirt was a staggering 96.86 m (317.78 ft) long and 69.77 m (228.90 ft) wide, successfully breaking the record.

Prior to this, the title was held by Equilibrios Camisetas Promocionais who constructed a 93.2 m (305 ft 9.28 in) long and 62.73 m (205 ft 9.68 in) wide top in Brazil.

After the record was confirmed and photos taken, the record-breaking tee was taken away to be turned into 10,000 normal sized shirts and distributed to disadvantaged children around the local area.

"Guinness World Records has given us the opportunity to showcase how the act of throwing away waste separately and correctly can result in a marvel, which will not only contribute to protecting our planet but will also enable hundreds of those who are deprived of basic human needs to have one moment of significant happiness. For us, that’s the most amazing record. Thank you Guinness World Records for taking our vision to the world," - Atul Kanuga, Chairman of the Environment and Plastics Image Committee at Plastindia Foundation.

Mr Kanuga dedicated the title to those who "believe there is hope for our planet".

GWR judge Swapnil presents a certificate to Plastindia Foundation

Could your brand could use a Guinness World Records attempt for a good cause awareness campaign? Find out now!

Jateen Rajput – the Director of Consumer Links, India, which came up with the record-breaking campaign – shared his thought process: "The concept of doing a T-shirt germinated from the fact that conventional recycling was a subject that was discussed and talked across forums and NGO meets. However, the need of the hour was to create a disruptive and experiential initiative which would draw attention, ignite surprise and make something that was huge and impossible into a believable fact.

"A simple act of disposing a used bottle could cause a new revolution for social and climate change was the core message, and the T-shirt being converted to tangible clothing for 10,000 children was the best way to communicate how waste could be made into wealth and get Plastindia Foundation’s point across to the masses about the need for waste segregation. Consumer Links believes in always crafting tangible brand experiences and this was on point at the world’s Largest T-shirt for the Guinness World Records."

Other record attempts that have promoted turning plastic waste into renewable resources include the Largest plastic bottle sculpture and Largest human recycling logo.