Sustainable Startup Stories

“At ecoSansar, we are creating a market place for end-to-end sustainable options– Everything that you would need for a zero-waste lifestyle from a sustainable source”, Gayatri Joshi, Founder, ecoSansar. Gayatri, an engineer working in the IT industry is now a mom and a social entrepreneur!

Every inch of the road was covered with plastic and dead entangled marine lives…yes, that really happens…not somewhere far away, but very close to our own homes, in oceans, in lakes and streams and we are directly impacted!

Inspiration

Having been brought up in Mumbai before settling in Bengaluru, oceans and beaches had always been a very integral part of my life. During the Mumbai floods in July 2005 the ocean literally threw all the garbage back into the city and that’s when the magnitude of our disposable plastic problem really hit me! and I stopped using plastic as much as possible. Thats when the seed of ecoSansar was actually sown which later took root in June 2018, starting with rural handicrafts

Moreover, after having a family I realised how it was getting increasingly difficult to run a household without plastic. I figured that like me many other consumers must be wanting to live a more ecofriendly life but may not be able to due to lack of options. That’s when the idea and vision of ecoSansar was born, with the goal of being part of a solution to the single use plastic problem.

ecoSansar took shape in 2018

ecoSansar started almost 5 years ago in Bengaluru with sustainability and equal opportunities as its core business values. What began as a venture to promote rural plant fiber based handicrafts in the urban market, went on to improve the sustainability impact further and added daily life items like groceries, home essentials and self-care products.

To ensure end to end sustainability and to avoid plastic packaging, ecoSansar began working on the principles of circular economy which states that all resources should be put to use until its end of life and only then sent for recycling. Their USP is that all the packaging is collected back for reuse, thus AVOIDING single use packaging waste.

We take back our packagings and Reuse for Refill. This is an essential part of our zerowaste delivery process as we make sure that our packagings are repurposed, functional and make use of existing resources. 

The Struggles

Awareness and consciousness towards carbon footprint was very low when we had started. And so every consumer had to be nearly taught about sustainability. Also, switching to sustainable lifestyle is a habit breaking process for everyone which requires a bit of unlearning and so even if the consumers are aware of the benefits of sustainability for themselves and the earth, the adaptability has been slow. A complete lack of any government support in terms of subsidies and environment friendly policies, the change is not economically competitive compared to the current ‘Use and Throw’ lifestyle. This limits the market size of sustainability to only the ones who can afford it which in turn limits the impact. The pandemic of course came with its own share of problems and we were forced to shut our store to cut costs. We are currently working only in an online format and still going strong. 

The Milestones

Every single packaging that gets repurposed/reused for refill is a victory for us as we save almost 58 gallons of water for every 1500 packagings saved from landfills. 

Mission & Vision

ecoSansar wishes to enable an urban lifestyle that can be guilt free and sustainable. We want to give our consumers the choice of conscious consumerism, where you can live without harming the beautiful environment! Nature has a circular system to ensure everything is back in the cycle and nothing is wasted, a wonderful rhythm which allows every living being to thrive! This circular cycle is what we are immensely inspired by and are trying to incorporate it into the urban lifestyle! Zerowaste can be a reality and we are inching towards it one product at a time, one conscious citizen at a time!

Website: www.ecosansar.com

For Kolkata born and raised Sanah Agrawal, her natural inclination had always been to create something that will preserve India’s varied crafts and culture. Thus, growing up in the beautiful state of West Bengal, which is home to incredible craftsmen and artisans, the zeal to bring these heritage textiles and techniques into contemporary wear began. And, given the current state of the fashion industry, which is dominated by polyester, nylon, and synthetic fabrics that are harmful to the environment, the idea of creating a sustainable and eco-friendly brand GOADOS.

She completed her MBA with a specialization in marketing, and after a series of roles as a digital marketing and branding specialist, she began working with Tata Trust as a behavior change consultant for Swachh Bharat Gramin and never returned to the corporate sector. After working in the development sector with Tata Trusts, Sanah founded GOADOS in 2021.

“GOADOS is an ethical & sustainable fashion brand where we use indigenous textiles and techniques to make contemporary clothing. All our products are 100% handwoven and plastic-free. We believe in making a sustainable lifestyle and wardrobe more accessible and available to all. From the very start have strived to give back, from using Handwoven Khadi to using Coconut Waste Fibres for our upcoming collection”, says Sanah, the young and dedicated designer.

Sustainability is the key Pillar

One of the key pillars of GOADOS is sustainability. The brand has a dual approach to being sustainable. First: it is an eco-friendly and ethical brand that can give a new silhouette, aesthetic, and market to the dying indigenous crafts, and provide an opportunity for artisans and craftsmen to continue their generation-old rich art. Their  first collection was made entirely of handwoven Khadi cotton. The materials were sourced, woven, dyed, and built locally.

The second is by using environmentally friendly techniques, fabrics, and closures. They are using Coconut Fibre waste and Banana Peel waste fabrics alongside the Handwoven Khadi Cotton in their upcoming collection. And do not use or incorporate elastic and synthetic blends in their products at all.

An all-women team

GOADOS is a 100% women-led company including all its vendors and employees. “This wasn’t intentional but has somehow just shaped itself this way, and we are very proud of that”.

Initial roadblocks

Starting something new is bound to bring challenges and they did and still do face our fair share of them, starting with – Starting a fashion brand on a small budget, Navigating the unfamiliar fashion industry, entering the competitive market of homegrown brands, figuring out a secure and swift way to connect with the artisans and follow deadlines, as most of their craftsmen reside in the rural parts of the state- establishing an effective communication was a challenge yet a priority. And the biggest challenge was to curate a solid design team, create clothing that did not use elastics or any synthetic material, and to still make it fit the body. These were to name a few of their initial roadblocks and struggles.

Future plan and the vision

With dedication and hard work, the brand aims to incorporate textiles and techniques from all over the country, not just from Bengal. “We want to make indigenous textiles a part of people’s daily lives and clothing and encourage our consumers of all ages and preferences to choose a sustainable brand over fast fashion. And we intend to use new and innovative textiles in our upcoming collection, which heavily incorporates food/crop waste textiles”.

Check out their collections at www.goados.co

Hailing from Bhusawal, Maharashtra, Amit Jain, Co-founder, MItti Ke Rang, was barely  3 years old when he lost his father. His grandfather opened a tailoring shop for his mother and his cousins supported them which helped him to survive.

After graduation, Jain came to Pune in 2012 with 1,000 INR to look for a job and within a month’s struggle got a job at The Bank of New York Mellon. And his life took a drastic change.

Mitti Ke Rang took shape

He was lucky to get support from his relatives during their struggling day, now when he had enough, he wanted to help and support the needy. In 2014, he started a social group with Saket Deshmukh, where they started collecting clothes from people and donating them NGOs and slum areas. Soon volunteers started joining them and their group started getting bigger, and they named it Mitti Ke Rang (MKR).  For a couple of years, they kept doing various social activities alongwith their full-time jobs.

Having realized  there were many women in their community Pune, looking for opportunities to earn a livelihood, In 2019, Amit took a drastic step and left his cushy bank job to give MKR his full time and attention and help empower women economically..

Soon, they started training women entrepreneurs to make cloth and paper bags and got a few orders which helped them introduce more products for Diwali like tea light candles and sold more than 52,000 units in 40 days and generated Rs 17,500 each for five women entrepreneurs.

After Diwali, Amit decided to backpack across India, to meet women entrepreneurs across rural areas and understand the women entrepreneur ecosystem and challenges they faced in their businesses. “I had a plan to backpack across India covering Kanyakumari to Kashmir, Arunachal to Bombay. I started from Mumbai and went till Kanyakumari, then from there till Arunachal Pradesh. Then a lockdown happened due to which I got stuck in Guwahati for 70 days”, says the young social entrepreneur

During that journey, he met a lot of women entrepreneurs in different cities and after interacting with them, concluded that while many women want to start their own business, technology and social media as a means to promote and sell their products posed a big challenge for them.

“We thought that we already have a platform, so why not assist all such women entrepreneurs with the platform to ease the process and help them get the customers from across the globe. And by end of December 2020,  they started full-fledged operations of their e-commerce site by end of December 2020. We feel proud to say the MKR turned the Covid crisis into an opportunity for several women entrepreneurs. Many of them started the business at home as an experiment and now they are looking at making it mainstream and expanding it”.

Roadblocks and important milestones

There were many roadblocks, when we took this full time we did not have a full-proof plan of what products we would be making. Then, slowly we kept improvising. When we thought now we have some good plan, Covid came in. Everything got halted for some time.

Initially, Logistics was a big challenge and making people aware of the platform. But, over a period of time with everyone’s support and hardwork, we were able to pass all hurdles and create more livelihood opportunities for women entrepreneurs.

In a year of launch of our e-Commerce platform, we have bagged 5,281 Ordersfor our women entrepreneurs from all over the country. Also, we have onboarded more than 200+ Women entrepreneurs from 25 states in India.  And, Shipped to more than 250+ cities, and 5 countries.

Your mission and vision

Amit, all of 30 years and Saket 33, are currently bootstrapping this beautiful social venture and are aiming to support more and more women entrepreneurs with livelihood opportunities by selling online through Mitti Ke Rang

The ongoing pandemic has spurred a renewed focus on health and well-being among the consumer in India. Growing focus on sustainability, climate change and animal welfare are driving consumers to adopt a healthier lifestyle through plant based alternatives. Today’s consumer is educated and open to exploring food choices , want to understand where their protein comes from and want to feel good about what they eat.

Once considered as a trend, this plant-based movement now indicates a significant shift from being just a trend to becoming a way of life. Today’s consumers are educating themselves about health, food choices, sustainability, the health of the planet at large, and animal welfare and environmental footprint—all things that help drive the plant-based world. The COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact and put what was already a floating market into overdrive. This pandemic has spurred a renewed focus on health and well-being, inspiring many people to explore adding more plant-based ingredients into their diets.

With people now looking consciously at alternatives, whether it is driven by thoughts of clean eating or contributing to help the environment, the time is right to offer more options for a balanced diet as consumers take an interest in the source of their food and drinks to be able to make informed decisions.

In today’s time vegan startups are ripe for growth especially after the pandemic has exposed the dark side of animal agriculture and reminded us of the importance of being healthy and fit. Globally it is accepted that the growth of a plant-based diet is important for not just for health and animal welfare but also to save the planet from climate change. Animal agriculture is the second largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions after fossil fuels. It is also the leading cause of deforestation, water and air pollution and biodiversity loss.

It is not surprising then that Veganism has come a long way from existing as a micro-trend in the fringes to becoming a widely accepted mainstream movement. An essential part of what makes veganism so relevant today is our renewed focus on health. Any fitness enthusiast will tell you that what you put in your body is more important than the number of hours you put into your workout. The older generation didn’t have six pack abs to flaunt. The next generation however, strive to be fitter than ever which creates part of a large opportunity that vegan startups are well positioned to ride.

To make plant based food and beverage mainstream in India, we need to consider the eating habits of the consumer and provide greater choice and diversity without compromising on taste and experiences. In order to that we also need to mimic the local non-vegan or animal based products and give consumer the choice/freedom to make a shift to a vegan version of the product they were used to.

Simultaneously, we need to focus on 3 vital foundation for any food choice; that are taste, cost, and convenience.

Fundamentally, our food choice must first meet required needs for taste, affordability, and ease of purchase and preparation for the majority of consumers to consider it. Awareness is an important purchasing driver for unique food products, such as plant-based meat. If these three core drivers are met, consumers then have the opportunity to include their higher values into their food choices. Depending on consumer segment, these values include health, sustainability, or animal welfare.

What is in store for 2022?

The demand for vegan-based food is growing rapidly and exponentially and will continue from hereon. This year will also see vegan market grow even further. Whilst almost all types of food are available in vegan form these days like vegan-meat, vegan-milk, there are still some areas that need further research and development, such as cheese and protein based vegetables alternatives. Potato as a category has also made an appearance in plant-based milk apart from soy, almond and oats.

Extracting proteins from vegetables are also being eyed up for the plant-based protein market. Similarly, protein components like tofu, soy and beans are widely used as the main proteins in plant-based meat.

Plant-based baked goods are seeing a huge growth. With consumers’ love for sweets and baked goods, this market will continue to nurture in 2022, with more products and brands being launched on the market.

The potential for new ventures that cater to veganism is immense because of the growing interest in plant-based food, a huge influx of capital and the promise of scalability. Veganism has something to offer to everyone; be it impact for activists, wealth creation for investors or nutritious food for consumers. 

About Only Earth : Only Earth is a brand of vegan, plant-based beverages, initiated to help people make conscious consumption choices. Started by Kunal Mutha the company is based out of Singapore and the beverages are manufactured in Thailand and Sri Lanka. The sole vision is to help people eat right for a better tomorrow.

“Connecting NER is an ode to handicrafts, especially of the north-east of India. We are trying to take our audience through what our region is all about. Along with that, Connecting NER is also on its way to be part of a movement, started by our predecessors, wherein an artisanal item, untouched by machines, gets its deserved value”, says Aayushi Patwari, founder Connecting NER

Hailing from Guwahati, Assam, Aayushi started Connecting NER as a passion project.

“At first it was just plain old research about what people knew about northeast India, its product, crafts etc. There was not much available from and on our region. We learnt how not many enterprises and entrepreneurs from the NE have gained limelight for what they do, and while there are quite a few sellers from our region across the internet, not many talk about the origin of goods made using cane, rattan, bamboo, kauna, meteka, longpi. We started Connecting NER in order to correct that while also giving the artisans here another platform to work with and secure their livelihoods by doing so”, adds Aayushi.

Though, not been formally trained as a designer, creation was a part of a desire with respect to my career trajectory but until CNER I never imagined how it would come to life. With CNER I get to learn from master artisans every day as to what is possible to make along with many technical aspects of the raw material while working out details for custom products and so on. What I have learnt is that sky is the limit when it comes to handmade goods but it needs to be coupled with time and patience to get the ultimate result. Investment is huge too while prototyping but the return with respect to creativity and product created is massive on its own.

Products at Connecting NER

Connecting NER offers a broad range of artisanal goods made using generations-old skills and environment-friendly raw materials such as bamboo, cane. The product range also includes other traditional crafts such as bell-metal, a skill particular to Assam; Longpi pottery and jewellery from the villages of Manipur. 

The product range includes home decor and utility items such as trays, baskets planters in rattan, cane, bamboo, water hyacinth or locally known as water reed. It also includes lifestyle products, such as bags and organisers, made using kauna grass from Manipur.  

The price of the products cost anywhere between INR500 to INR5000. 

Struggles & achievements For a completely new brand with limited connects, it has been tough to form a customer base given the low advertisement budgets and so on. But the backbone of the brand has been their B2B clientele because of they are able to stabilize the prices owing to the large quantities they order. 

Communication with artisans and visits to clusters also get limited as they are all stationed very far away and given the pandemic we try and work out as much as possible via video and it’s very heartening to see artisans adopt technology on such a fast scale. 

The market is yet to understand the value of handmade goods and the time it takes to make these items with finesse. Depending on time and skill, a handmade product looks no lesser than a factory produced good. 

Vision & Mission

We hope to see customers tend more warmly to handmade goods made in the Far East regions of India. 

And we are now going to be working with young designers who want to experiment with these new raw materials.

Availability: www.connectingner.com