6 Uniquely Indian Circular Businesses to watch out for!
India is currently seeing an exciting shift towards sustainability, with innovative businesses tackling some of the country’s most pressing environmental issues. From waste management to fashion, these green champions are leading the change in creating solutions that are not only eco-friendly but also socially impactful.
Read on as we highlight five uniquely green Indian businesses that are shaping a better, more sustainable future - each with its own inspiring story and mission!
A company that we look up to and have collaborated with several times over the years is Daily Dump! At Bare Necessities, we work to eliminate waste by design, but what about the waste that you have lying around already? Take your wet waste for example, how do you manage that? That’s where Daily Dump steps in.
A design led company, Daily Dump uses it to imagine alternative scenarios that can help change behaviour. By looking at whole systems and understanding that India has its own unique challenges. Their objective is to reduce waste, improve material recovery, enable better livelihoods and to do this through the voluntary collective action of urban citizens.
Daily Dump has helped composting super easy through their innovative product - khamba, an apparatus that can be used to compost waste at home. Their unique solutions can be used at homes, at office spaces, at shared community spaces and more!
They’re a business that’s truly making composting the norm by offering the most practical and simple solutions suitable for our everyday lives. You ought to check Daily Dump out!
Phool is yet another business that we look up to and admire at Bare Necessities. It is a business that was born out of solving a very specific problem that plagued what is considered one of the holiest sites in India - River Ganga. One of the most revered rivers in the country, it was subject to so much pollution, chief of them being the flower waste from temples close by. In order to divert temple flower waste from the rivers, Founder, Ankit Agarwal, came up with his brainchild - Phool.
Phool uses temple flowers to make incense sticks and a faux leather like material. The company handcrafts some of the most luxurious incense cones, sticks, havan cups and more, which are all made from temple flowers!
The temple flowers used would otherwise be diverted to the river Ganga, contributing to water pollution. Given that these are sacred flowers that have been used to adorn gods or as an offering, they cannot be thrown into the garbage, they need to go into the river. The first roadblock that plagued the founders was sourcing the flowers because most temples did not trust them with it. With persistent and consistent work on the business, the company has achieved the much needed attention, yet at the same time, the flower waste as an issue has become a much spoken topic too, bringing the waste crisis to the forefront.
Through their innovative approach, Phool not only addresses a critical environmental issue, but also breathes new life into sacred offerings, creating products that honour tradition and sustainability.
India’s FMCG sector is expanding rapidly, with more than half of the country’s plastic waste stemming from this industry. By adopting circular models, we would be able to see a shift, where companies focus on creating packaging that is either infinitely recyclable or entirely compostable. Imagine a future where product packaging generates value or better yet, disappears without leaving a trace!
New types of sustainable packaging are being developed all the time. Super fascinating packaging material has now come up with seaweed!
A brand leading the change is Zerocircle, which is pioneering alternative packaging solutions through seaweed that are free from harmful chemicals like phthalates and volatile organic compounds. Their seaweed based packaging offers a sustainable alternative for food, takeout, and more, ensuring consumer safety while completely eliminating plastic waste
Sirohi is a World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO) brand that brings together sustainable home decor and lifestyle products with a keen focus on artisan empowerment. They partner with artisan clusters across five states in India and leverage technology to provide high quality design training and direct market access, particularly to women artisans. This innovative approach allows them to create beautifully designed, high quality hand crafted products, which results in wages that are 40% higher than the traditional artisan income in India.
Sirohi’s handcrafted products include an exquisite collection of storage boxes, trays, tables, chairs, stools, planets, photo frames, gift hampers and so much more. Created so intricately, they reflect the unique craftsmanship and creativity of India’s artisan community.
Did you know that sanitary napkins have an equivalent of 7-9 plastic bags in it, taking it 200 years to start decomposing? Do you like the idea that your local municipality cleaner and waste warrior has to sort through your pads and tampons?
And this is a similar question that plagued Ira Guha, Founder of Asan Menstrual Cup. Inspired to start Asan after interacting with a domestic worker in her local community, who was forced to miss work during her periods.
Guha designed and patented the Asan menstrual cup when she was a graduate student at Harvard and now we have this lovely sustainable apparatus that would help us to be green that time of the month!
Menstrual cups of course, have a huge environmental impact and social impact too! But the best part is its cost savings! Did you know that you could save close to Rs. 12,000 in 10 years by making the simple switch to menstrual cups?
Asan Menstrual Cup is truly a game changer for both the planet and your pocket, going to show that small changes truly make a big difference.
Did you know that there is an estimated 92 million tonnes of textile waste being generated each year because of the rise of the fast fashion industry?
Fast fashion has drastically changed the way that we think about clothing. Trends now change rapidly and new collections are constantly churning out. Overconsumption and the idea of throwing out clothes have become super common to the point where it is becoming normalised.
In response to this is No Nasties. A brand that since 2011 has made 100% organic, fair trade, vegan clothing. No Nasties has championed organic cotton that feels delightfully soft and comfortable on your skin. Moreover, they offset 3x the footprint to make a positive impact! They invest heavily in carbon offset projects for solar power, wind energy and reforestation.
It’s a brand that goes to show that fashion can be both stylish and sustainable, offering a conscious alternative to the exploitative and polluting practices of fast fashion, all while making a real difference for the planet (and your wardrobe).
And here’s a little sneaky little sixth contender on this list. We just had to get a little self indulgent.
Bare Necessities is India's first FMCG brand to become a Certified B Corporation. We are dedicated to inspiring a sustainable lifestyle through our range of PETA-certified products made from non-polluting ingredients. We seek to change the narrative of waste in India and beyond by providing zero-waste solutions that empower local communities and make conscious consumption easy and accessible. Simultaneously, we are also working to raise awareness around the need for sustainable living through our UNESCO recognized education Initiative - Bare Learning.
And for more on our product portfolio, check out our product page here!
These businesses demonstrate that sustainability is beyond just a buzzword or a fleeting trend. Instead, it’s a necessary and an important shift towards a more responsible and conscious future. By supporting these green innovators, we can all be a part of the movement to reduce waste and build a more sustainable world for generations to come!