Monthly Archives

January 2023

Beauty

Co-earth from Colorbar – Beauty is born in our actions. How we care for ourselves and the world around us.  

by Team Conscious Carma
written by Team Conscious Carma

From the house of Colorbar, comes Co-earth, a one-of-a-kind personal care brand born for Our Planet. 

The brand firmly believes in beauty is not about how we want to look – it is about the way we act and care for ourselves along with the living beings around us. Co-earth aims to attend to every whim of its customers with its rawest offerings. The brand offers 12 bountiful collections for the customers to choose from – Ubtan, Onion, Bhringamla, Rice Water, Retinol, Vitamin C, Charcoal, Apple Cider Vinegar, Almond, Argan, Aloe vera & Tea Tree.  Firmly rooted in the mission to co-exist, the brand believes in clean, naturally derived cruelty-free vegan formulas.  Co-Earth products combine the knowledge of modern science, Ayurveda, aromatherapy and traditional skincare rituals. Each is formulated using state-of-the-art and ethical manufacturing practices and are Paraben free, Sulphate free, Silicone free, Mineral Oil free and Formaldehyde free.  

Having said that, Co-earth not only just aims to provide its customers with safe and natural products but also to give back to the planet in the form of conservation and rescuing of wildlife.  Co-earth also believes in fighting the good fight and they have joined hands with wildlife organizations to conserve endangered species across the world. With every purchase, the brand will contribute a small percentage to the massive-scale causes primarily related to elephants, one-horned rhinos, leopards, and bears.  

Co-earth product ranges from INR 349 to INR 799.  Available at https://coearth.co.in/ 

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Economy

From Entrepreneurship to Ecopreneurship: The Big Shift

by Team Conscious Carma
written by Team Conscious Carma

A new breed of eco-friendly startups are finding solutions that make money and help the planet. The rise of Ecopreneurs or the green pioneers who save the planet will be the future of entrepreneurship! – Nona Walia

In a world where everyone is an entrepreneur, if anything, be an ecopreneur. We’ve heard of fancy entrepreneur titles like — ‘mumpreneur’ to ‘lipstick entrepreneur’ to ‘manpreneur” or “dadpreneur”, but the biggest trend in 2023 will be the Ecopreneurs. The world needs more of ‘Ecopreneurship’ or ‘Sustainopreneurship’ — that are finding nature-based solutions through business practices.

Every entrepreneur needs to make a promise to turn their enterprise into environment-friendly production. We need an ‘ecopreneur revolution’ to fight global climate change. The UN has pledged  to train one million individuals and mentor them to be ecopreneurs with training programs. As a result, with constant innovations from ‘ecopreneurs’ — entrepreneurs whose businesses models are not just driven by profit, but by a desire to have a positive impact on the environment a change will be seen. And many of these eco-friendly innovators are only now beginning their journey of building start-ups. Says Aditi Balbir, ecopreneur and sustainability expert, “Rise of climate tech and the subsequent onset of the conscious consumer has driven a lot of us into thinking of solutions that can help mitigate climate change. Venture funds have kept pace too, and funds focused on climate tech have grown. Given the pool of capital available, and the conscious consumer that demands greener products, there is a major shift in talent that is moving towards this sector. Hence the rise of the ecopreneur.”

These ecopreneurs put nature and climate at the core of their business models, ensuring a more resilient and sustainable path. One example is Suhani Dewra, who launched her organic line of bath soaps. She has modernised traditional soaps to produce large quantities of inexpensive environmentally-friendly organic products. “For me being an ecopreneur was a conscious decision. Ecopreneurs thrive on innovative ecosystems. It comes out of passion to do something good for the planet”. World Economic Forum in partnership with Deloitte, has started to bring together such an innovation ecosystem. Through its innovation challenges it has already received over 2,800 solutions and has selected over 180 Top Innovators who are solving some of the world’s most pressing issues. The intersection between entrepreneurship and sustainability is becoming a focal point for many businesses. A significant part of this trend is the advent of ecopreneurial businesses in almost all nations of the world. Next year in 2023, we will witness more ecopreneurial innovations that change the old mechanised way of doing business.

Ecopreneurship – The growing need of the hour

Ecopreneurs are revolutionizing the future by contributing significantly toward a green economy, changing marketing patterns and demand for greener products.  By 2023, a host of new startups and ecopreneurs across the globe will be jostling to be the first to commercialise their environment-friendly solutions and yet be profitable.

In the next year, we will also witness more powerful start up ideas debates that transform the global ecosystem. 2023 will be the year of ecopreneur innovations. It is not enough to be an entrepreneur anymore, but you need a powerful ecopreneur idea with visibility, connections and funding. The potential and momentum for such innovation drive the ecopreneur revolution. There’s huge excitement and nervousness for the big shift in start-ups.

We need to nourish and nurture new ecopreneurs and create fertile ground for them to grow. With Cutting-edge innovations within the ecosystem and public-private collaboration we can truly  catalyse the ecopreneurship revolution.  This is also the time when ecopreneurs need to throw a lot of energy into social media marketing, as it’s currently the biggest overall platform small businesses. John Ivanko, author of Ecopreneuring has rightly said: ‘Be an ecopreneur. Launch your dream green business. We are the CEO’s – the Chief Environmental Officers – of  our business, responsible for the success of our operations, and it’s environmental and social impact. We define our business qualitatively and not quantitatively. Ecopreneuring buries the staid notion that doing good and doing business cannot blend.”

Ecopreneurs need to:

  • Focus on new innovations and ways of doing things in areas of climate change, pollution and waste.
  • There are many well-known green businesses that have stayed true to their focus on sustainability.  We need to celebrate businesses and success stories that have made greener choices.
  • Running an earth-friendly business means that you consider the environment in every aspect of your operations. We need every entrepreneur to turn into an ecopreneur.

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InitiativesSustainability

Rushil Décor Ltd shaping a Greener India – Plants 120 million agroforestry trees, create thousands of jobs, and rural uplift

by Team Conscious Carma
written by Team Conscious Carma

Founded in 1993 in Gujarat, Rushil Décor Ltd. (NSE: RUSHIL) is a globally leading company in modern interior infrastructure and eco-friendly, composite wood panels that are committed to shaping a better planet. Since last four years, RUSHIL has planted over 120 million agroforestry trees in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and pledges to further strengthen its agroforestry capacity initiatives in an integrated manner with crops and livestock to improve productivity, employment, income and livelihoods of rural households, impacting smallholder farmers and offering 20,000 skilled and unskilled employment.

Agroforestry is defined as a land use system that integrates trees and shrubs on farmlands and rural landscapes to enhance productivity, profitability, diversity, and ecosystem sustainability. It is a dynamic, ecologically based, natural resource management system that, through the integration of woody perennials on farms and in the agricultural landscape, diversifies and sustains production and builds social institutions.

With its five state-of-the-art manufacturing plants, RUSHIL caters to its customers in 47 countries across the world, providing DIY green-engineered products from agroforestry and a wide range of high-performance surface engineering solutions, thus creating smarter spaces. Rushil K Thakkar, Director, Rushil Decor Ltd., India, says “Trees are one of our best investments against the climate crisis. As a responsible organization, we at Rushil Decor are committed to promoting agroforestry to sequester carbon and broaden the social, economic, and environmental sustainability of rural development. The smart use of trees in agricultural land systems can also make substantial contributions to the conservation of biodiversity. Agroforestry can also help diversify and sustain (food) production and provide vital social, economic, and environmental benefits for land use at scale–shaping a greener planet and better future for all.”

With the rise in living standards, the need for wood is encouraging agro farming which results “farm to furniture” vision of a successful layout for the industry. Trees provide a way forward for sustainable farming and the world must embrace innovative options to maximize agroforestry productivity for mitigating climate change leading to a sustainable ecosystem.

According to industry insights, empowering agroforestry at a national level can offer significant benefits to the economy, and composite panel industries can create employment opportunities for 2 to 2.5 million people approximately. The full value chain from 110 – 115 million CBM timber (timber to furniture) can create value-added produce of $150 billion. An important benefit is carbon sequestration: the increase in forest cover and that too of younger trees will have a 2 billion metric ton carbon sequestration potential by 2050.

Growing consumer awareness and a range of applications are driving increased consumption of MDF in India, as the industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15% – 20% from an estimated Rs. 3,000 crores in 2021 to Rs. 6,000 crores by 2026. India is a significant player in MDF, being used as a leading interior infrastructure material. Discerning consumers and modern offices who look for responsible products that reduce carbon footprint, rapid urbanization, rebound in realty, and rising nuclear families will boost MDF growth. Unlike a 70 % market share in the developed nations, MDF has just a 30% market share in India reflecting the high potential for MDF.

MDF is an engineered product made of wood fibers bonded under high pressure using thermosetting resins and wax, forming beautiful panels by applying high temperature and pressure, for strength. Many MDF qualities make it an ideal replacement for wood, plywood, and particle boards.

Various initiatives Rushil Décor has taken towards becoming a responsible and sustainable corporation

  • Rushil Décor undertakes a variety of environment-friendly practices at their manufacturing units and strictly adheres to the norms of the Pollution Control Board of the State Government, they participate in and maintain Agroforestry Projects.
  • They have implemented Environmental Management Systems to ensure that no aspect of the business harms the environment. Their facilities are also fitted with rainwater harvesting units to help maintain groundwater levels. The brand also planted over 120 million agroforestry trees in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh which includes 50 million trees in Chikmagalur, Hassan, and Shimoga districts of Karnataka and 70 million trees in Visakhapatnam, East Godawari, and Vizianagaram districts of Andhra Pradesh.
  • ‘The fast-growing, short rotational crops: Eucalyptus, Casuarina, Silver Oak & Acacia are used as raw materials in the industry, and offer direct income to farmers, agriculture labor, and laborers, around the plantation.
  • The brand also engages with rural farmers to extend advanced technical support like offering seeds and seedlings of different agroforestry species through nurseries, necessary subsidies, transportation support, training, and guidance at the factory and district centers, distribution of materials, price updates for harvesting along with market support.
  • These plants procure agroforestry wood which in turn brings in sustenance for the people and the environment at large.
  • While focusing on agroforestry they also engage in activities like providing lunch at old age homes & distributing books in Ahmedabad.  They encourage their suppliers, contractors, and vendors to implement green policies in their processes so they collectively contribute to a greener environment.

The above initiatives have not only resulted in more income to farmers, increased employment, greater output but also caring for and saving the environment.

Technology helping in optimum utilisation of resources and lower emissions

With the introduction of latest world-class technologies, the company has been able to increase efficiency and reduce raw material cost.  Rushil Decor’s modern facilities also help nurture local ancillary industries like furniture, panel, transport, and local artisans leading to significant employment opportunities. The plants are strategically located close to raw material sourcing agroforestry-plantations and hence, create sustainable livelihood, reduce transportation impact, and lower emissions, driven by smart manufacturing and automated robotic production.

The company is committed to the environment and principles of sustainable development and is initiating a variety of environment-friendly practices. Also, committed to the vision to create a better everyday life for its customers. The company is offering a wide range of well-designed, environment-friendly functional products at affordable prices and commits to delivering growth consistently to investors and employees.

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Beauty

Colorbar introduces first-ever refillable and sustainable conscious lipstick 

by Team Conscious Carma
written by Team Conscious Carma

One of India’s leading cosmetic brands, Colorbar has recently launched the Conscious Matte Lipstick range, its first-ever refillable lipstick line. Delivering on its promise of eco-consciousness, the sustainable, vegan matte lipstick is encased in 100% recyclable aluminium packaging. With the surge in environmental consciousness, Colorbar’s new conscious lipstick collection promotes the idea of clean beauty since it is cruelty-free, vegan, paraben-free, and dermatologically tested. 

The idea is to promote a modern approach to self-expression by creating a lipstick range which can be customized, refilled and reused according to individual preferences.  With an easy switch formula, one can simply swap a refill of their choice into an existing case to reduce waste over time. Enriched with the goodness of Vitamin E, jojoba oil, and shea butter, the vegan matte lipstick helps give that perfect shine, creamy feel, and matte texture to your lips with one smooth application. It exhibits a highly blendable and pigmented consistency that provides beautiful, long-lasting coverage without peeling or drying.   

The lipstick has 28 variants and comes at a price of Rs 1299 – Combo (Casing and Refill) and Rs 699 – Refill 

Colorbar’s Vegan Nail Lacquer 

Colorbar is one of the leading beauty brands in India and across the world believes in the philosophy of gender-neutral and celebrates the diversity of all those who come in contact with them. The brand is always in constant search to offer the most innovative products in the world to give the best service and experience to the consumer. 

One such product is Vegan Nail Lacquer. Colorbar’s patented & award-winning Vegan Nail Lacquer is available in 128 shades to suit your every mood and has eco-friendly packaging to make it environment-friendly. The bottles are made using a unique combination of glass, fastened with 50% wooden-built caps. The 100% vegan and the cruelty-free product is derma-tested and has a long-lasting gel-like texture to keep those nails dazzling for days at a stretch. The budget-friendly nail paint has a quick dry and has a 21-free clean formula to prevent nails from chipping and yellowing. It is priced at INR 199. Available at; https://www.colorbarcosmetics.com/

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Spirituality

Breathe right to avoid ageing – Yogi Ashwini, Dhyan Ashram

by Team Conscious Carma
written by Team Conscious Carma

Breathing and ageing are interrelated

The human body is the reflection of one cell. This cell is conceived in the womb and it gives rise to the various organs and tissues of the body on forming of the baby. Ageing works at different levels, with signs first appearing at the elementary level of a cell. It is the cell in which heaviness accumulates and, depending on the dosha type, the disease – whether obesity, depression or heart trouble originates.

The day the baby is born the process of ageing sets in the body. This ageing begins because of the breath, which is taken in. Every breath results in the production of energy and the equal and opposite effect is the ageing of the cell due to the production of toxins, called ama in Ayurveda. This same breathing process results in the loss of skin elasticity, reduction in the ability of the five senses, and wrinkles, all of which are a sign of ageing.

Ideal breath count should be below 10 in a minute

A simple indicator to assess your state of health is the number of times you breath in a minute. It is said that if your breath count is below 10 in a minute, you will exude glow, youth and beauty, and if it is over 15 then sadness, sickness and old age have taken over you regardless of your upper age. When cells are exposed to large doses of oxygen or instant heat through certain types of hyperactive techniques, misrepresented as yoga, then initially one does feel good, but ultimately this results in depletion of the finite life force in the cell and shortens the lifespan.

The practice of yoga and Sanatan Kriya becomes a one-to-one between a Guru and shishya and cannot be carried out as amass exercise

Pranayamas are highly potent tools, the effects of which are unsurpassed if prescribed by a Guru after evaluation of ones physical and emotional condition. However, they must be balanced with other pranayamas and kriyas to bring the body in a state of equilibrium and shanti. It is, therefore, important to understand how our systems work – how we produce, utilize and waste energy in the body, beginning with the essential act of breathing. Thus the practice of yoga and Sanatan Kriya becomes a one-to-one between a Guru and shishya and cannot be carried out as amass exercise.

Anu Vilakshan Kriya as detailed in the Vedas naturally brings down your breath rate and reduces your diet, both of which slow down the process of cell decay and hence promote longevity.

To know more, log on to www.dhyanfoundation.com

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Apparel

MAIZAH by HANDS OF GOLD

by Team Conscious Carma
written by Team Conscious Carma

Hands of Gold was started in 2015 by Sadaf Syed. The casual search for a customizable product and its unavailability in the local market stimulated her to initiate the entrepreneurial journey. This endeavor filled the vacuum ever since with paper mache, woollen stoles, edibles etc.

Hands of Gold now brings the best of Kashmir to the world with the heirloom pieces under its wearable line Maizah whose embroidery in tilla and aari is  the soul of the fabric. 

Maizah by  Hands of Gold is Sadaf Sayed’s work of passion and love for the meticulously crafted ensembles influenced by the beauty of Kashmir. With Maizah, Hands of Gold attempts to contemporize the traditional art of Kashmir while keeping it true to its primary quality.

Maizah comprises Kaftans, Pherans, Co-Ord sets and kurtas are exclusively designed by the design team at Srinagar and handcrafted by celebrated Karigars from Kashmir. 

Sadaf adds “It is an approach to provide the women of today the fusion of tradition and modernity in their attire. It would also provide a present-day perspective to the handwork of Kashmiri artisans which, we expect, will go a long way in the sustainable growth of the Kashmiri artisans and bring in some global recognition. “

Available – www.handsofgold.in
Price starts from 18,000/- INR

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BeautySustainable Startup Stories

Ataasii – Promoting various aspects of conscious living

by Team Conscious Carma
written by Team Conscious Carma

It all started when the founder went on a holiday from work, and decided never to return. The break exposed her to an alternate way of living. To how necessary it is to be mindful – in every aspect of life. Whether in the food she ate or the kind of exercise she carried out. Or even the way she communicated. That was the moment of awakening and soon was born Ataasii.

Based in Hyderabad, Suhani Dewra, the founder of Ataasii named the brand after the name of the protagonist from an unpublished book she had written as a teenager. Originally Ataasii is a blue flower of Indian origin.

“When I created Ataasii, I wasn’t thinking business. I just wanted to talk about somethings. I felt that there was a need of a platform like this to educate people of the details we, as a world, have ignored,” Suhani recalls. Thus was formed a platform with a magazine section for people to read about various conscious practices and a store with all things natural – soaps, shaving bars, candles, body scrub, face pack, etc.

About the founder:

Prior to establishing Ataasii, Suhani worked as a communications professional with the media and corporates. Even before she founded Ataasii, she had a strong impulse for focusing on self-care. A personal trait that was hidden and needed honing became her professional calling and that’s how Ataasii came into existence.

The journey:

Ataasii started small in 2020. Really tiny. On Instagram. The idea was to establish a magazine that spoke about various aspects of conscious living. But instead of including Ads to drive the revenue, Suhani chose to attach a store that would house stuff related to the content the magazine produced. “Ads can deter the viewing and reading experience,” she confirms. Strangely, the magazine section got lost (it definitely exists) while the store gained popularity.

The journey has been organic and slow-paced. The pandemic, of course, had the world at a pause. However, the founder is not complaining. For her, “things will happen when they are meant to happen.” Her only concern is to ensure that whatever little gets done, gets done well.  

The business has been promising but fluctuating in the last one year, from when the world started moving. At times it is flourishing with corporate orders coming in. And at other times, there’s a complete standstill.

The magazine section which is more like a blog now will soon see a physical copy of all the interviews published there.  

Bottlenecks in the journey

There are and were several bottlenecks for team Ataasii. The pandemic played a spoilsport. The world was shut down and therefore they didn’t see activities taking place. It was difficult for them to stay motivated in such times.   

To interview people for the magazine, they find it hard to scout people who follow a conscious lifestyle. “This leads to delay and the delay leads to lackluster entrepreneurial attitude,” says Suhani.   

Speaking of the store, there are several players who are already established in the same genre making the buyers unsure as to why should they gravitate to a newbie brand. Also, Amazon is a competitor they can’t compete with. “It’s a losing battle,” Suhani informs. Most people naturally tend to buy products from Amazon. 

The USP

To be specific, the store is confident of the products they house. “You have to use our face pack and bath salts and the scrub and the pain relief balm, you will come back asking for more,” Says a proud Suhani. Some of these products are what she has been using on herself for years, much before they become part of Ataasii’s store. “We know what we are doing,” adds Suhani.

The Mission

The company’s mission is to document many more interviews of individuals and speak about every aspect of conscious living. With this in place, the brand aspires to have a storehouse to create far more varieties of conscious products, say a jute bag or a yoga mat. 

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Wellness

SVISH your way to personal hygiene

by Team Conscious Carma
written by Team Conscious Carma

SVISH, one of India’s fastest-growing personal hygiene D2C start-ups has introduced a unique line of products that promise to take care of hygiene in areas that fall between the waistline and the knees in a dungeon called the underwear. Even though men have not really come around discussing their hygiene issues on any forum in any part of public sphere, SVISH has had the ‘ballz’ to not only conduct a thorough research on the subject but also introduce a line of products that are specialized to treat the sweaty and smelly areas of the scrotum like no one has ever before.

Ishan Grover and Jaideep Mahajan, the men behind SVISH, ought to be credited for thinking about the hygiene of areas of the human body that have strangely, seldom found the focus in day-to-day grooming. The unique, and first-of-its-kind men’s range of intimate hygiene products, Made in India, includes India’s 1st SVISH Ballz Foam Wash- Zero Fragrance, India’s 1st SVISH Ballz Roll on AntiChafing Deo and SVISH Intimate Wipes, the must have regime for men.

The women’s product line includes SVISH Intimate wipes, India’s 1st clutch pack which is as small as a credit card, SVISH Anti-chafing roll-ons, SVISH intimate hygiene wash and several other distinctly designed products. With superior, thoughtful, and all-natural, safe, intimate hygiene products, SVISH believes in letting women feel awesome inside, all day, every day! The range is the company’s little contribution to help women feel great about themselves while traveling, at work, at home, or through their menstrual cycles.

Availability : https://gosvish.com

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handamade, natural skincare
BeautySkin-CareSustainable Startup Stories

Lavanya – A  Natural Handmade Produce, from the Himalayas, Uttrakhand

by Team Conscious Carma
written by Team Conscious Carma

Lavanya, a handamade, natural skincare brand from Uttarakhand, came into existence due to the skin allergy faced by  Megha Maheshwari, a hotelier and HR professional having worked with Taj group of hotels.  Her Mother in Law, Shiv Shakti Bhatnagar came to her rescue with natural homemade treatment based on Ayurveda.

“This sparked the idea of using our OWN heritage of Grand mother’s & Great Grand mother’s secrets of natural & homemade beauty recipes. Reviving forgotten recipes gave birth to Lavanya in October 2020”, says Megha

All its products are made of 100% Natural. Preservative- Free, Paraben-Free, Chemical Free, Cruelty-Free and Alcohol Free. And the raw materials are sourced under personal supervision & handpicked by Himalayan village women in Uttrakahand. These are then grinded in water mill (gharrat)

As our products are handmade there may be imperfections and their Shape, Size, Weight, Color may vary from each other but the authenticity of the raw materials is guaranteed

Challenges

There are a few challenges as every start-up faces.  We are currently creating small batches. Also, our product range is in dry powder form  and not in ready to use format as we don’t use any preservatives.  We are exploring and experimenting with available local herbs to be used as natural preservatives.

Milestones

We have sold to almost 1,000 customers till now and there is not even a single negative feedback. We are currently selling through Instagram and participating in government exhibition and through the word of mouth

Products being offered : 15 variants of soaps, 3 variants of body and face cream, 5 variants of Lip balm, Hair Oil, 4 variants of Face Pack, Face scrub, anti-acne pack, 3 variants of lip and body scrub and face oil.  Trials are under way to introduce body oil essential oils, navel oil and face and body wash

Vision

Our vision is to bring our vedic ayurvedic science back to the modern world which has better effects than synthetic chemicals, is reasonably priced and also provide a livelihood to our Himalayan villagers and help them sustain

Availability : Instagram Lavanya.beauty.products

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What Design Can Do - Creatives to Build a Circular Society
EnvironmentEvents

What Design Can Do Urges Creatives to Build a Circular Society — One Great Idea at a Time

by Team Conscious Carma
written by Team Conscious Carma

What Design Can Do (WDCD),  an international platform that advocates for design as a tool for social change since 2011, launched an ambitious design challenge programme in 2016 that engages the creative community with urgent societal issues such as the wellbeing of refugees and climate change. So far, the programme has resulted in €10m in funds raised by initiatives post programme. 

Their Fourth Challenge  Make it Circular Challengein partnership with the IKEA Foundation is inviting designers and creative entrepreneurs globally to submit design-driven innovations from 11 October 2022 – 31 January 2023.

When it comes to the climate crisis, there’s no time for cynicism. With millions of people already experiencing the effects of a warming planet first hand, we need to move forward with optimism and momentum. This is the driving force behind this challenge which is inviting solutions from all innovators — from designers to entrepreneurs — to submit their boldest climate solutions using circular design.

Winning proposals will be made into reality with an impact-driven development programme. The end goal? To create products, services and systems that are both user-centred and earth-centred, showing that a circular future is not only imaginable — but actionable.

THE HIDDEN POWER OF CREATIVITY

Most economies today are based on a linear model, where value is created by producing and selling as many products as possible. The problem is, it operates on the assumption that infinite growth is possible on a finite planet. Today, we are seeing just how wrong this assumption was, as we face an accelerating climate crisis. Yet when looking ahead at the route to a circular society, many people only see obstacles that they would rather not or cannot take on. One of the most important challenges is to convince them that we can create a new world which makes our lives not less but even more fulfilling.

circular society conscious carma

“Many people become lost in the face of so much outrage, fatigue and disinterest — but not creatives,” says Richard van der Laken, co-founder and creative director of WDCD. “The ability to imagine is the creative community’s ideal domain: seeing what does not yet exist, taking on a challenge, forging ahead with optimism.”

The challenge is released and executed in India by local amplification partners UnBox Cultural Futures Society and research partners, Quicksand Design Studio. 

“The Make it Circular Challenge shows how it is possible to use creative design practices to rethink our current problems, and address the most pressing needs in order to create a more equitable future for all. Our partnership with What Design Can Do will bring to designers and creative entrepreneurs an opportunity to drive meaningful change by submitting their radical climate solutions using actionable circular design principles,” says Ayush Chauhan, Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Quicksand Design Studio & UnBox Cultural Futures Society. Quicksand Design Studio is an interdisciplinary creative consultancy facilitating the creation of meaningful experiences through design research and innovation.

A jury of leading experts in design, social impact and climate action will select a minimum of 10 winners. Winning ideas are turned into reality with €10.000 in funding and a global development programme co-created with Impact Hub Amsterdam, which includes online training, mentoring sessions and a bootcamp. This programme will support the winning teams in further strengthening their projects, and propelling them through 2023 and beyond.

The Make it Circular Challenge is active in six countries around the world: Kenya Japan, Brazil, India, Mexico, and Netherlands.

For more information, visit www.whatdesigncando.com 

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