Collectively we must alter our attitudes and behaviors toward plastic to protect the planet’s safety and health
With production increasing at an exponential rate, plastic pollution has quickly become one of the most pressing environmental issues today. Production has increased from 2.3 million tons in 1950 to 448 million tons in 2015 with production expected to double by 2050. Our planet is already covered in plastic, and the amount that is being produced is something we can’t possibly handle. Therefore, we must alter our attitudes and behaviors toward plastic to protect the planet’s safety and health.
Managing plastic waste is a huge challenge. Handling plastic waste is an important responsibility. To support the plastic-free planet, some brands are working towards a plastic-free future. Let’s take a look at a few of them collect, reproduce, store and recycle plastics.
Boon (Formerly Swajal)
Founded by Dr. Vibha Tripathi, Boon enables access to clean water to people across the socio-economic spectrum. Boon is a multi-award-winning (Internet of things) IoT-enabled water purification solutions provider. The company offers mineralized purified water with ultrafiltration and RO for as low as 25 paise per liter. The mineralized water by Boon provides pocket-friendly access to clean water through point-of-use water machines in public areas.
This helps organizations switch from plastic water to more sustainable and healthy options, thereby reducing plastic waste exponentially. Swajal’s plug-and-play model and technology-intensive approach also bring greater cost-effectiveness and decrease operational overheads. The company, moreover, provides a seamless customer experience through flexible subscription-based services that leverage QR codes and RFID-based smart cards, while its franchise-driven model promotes local entrepreneurship and allows locally-generated revenues to be absorbed by the local economy.
Bambrew
Bambrew is a one-stop innovative solution provider for sustainable packaging in India. With a mission to wipe out plastic usage in the packaging industry, it offers a host of products that are 100% handmade, reusable, and the perfect natural substitute for single-use plastics in the B2B domain. The company curates every product made from bamboo, sugarcane, and seaweed.
Incepted in 2018, Bangalore-based Bambrew is the brainchild of Vaibhav Anant. When the news around the plastic ban spurred, he realized that most of the plastic waste generated comes from the packaging industry, around 55% of the waste generated across the globe. This distressing situation intrigued him to create an effective alternative to single-use plastic straws by using Bamboo Fibers. Eventually, Bambrew was established to offer environment-friendly and cost-efficient packaging solutions.
Ed-a-Mamma
The brand was launched in Oct’2020 by Alia Bhatt. Ed-a-Mamma cares about children and the earth. Ed-a-Mamma’s first offering is a range of thoughtfully designed clothing for children. The fabric is all-natural and of the highest quality. The dyes used are AZO-free. And everything from the buttons and trims to the packaging is free of plastic. Reduce, reuse, and recycle are something the brand practices.
Ed-a-Mamma clothing has garnered trust by acquiring SEDEX (global certification for ethical trade), Green Denim Certifications through Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD certification), and organic clothing through GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certification and is a completely vegan brand.
Banyan Nation
Founded by Mani Vajipeyajula and Rajkiran Madangopal, this Hyderabad-based company leverages tech-based solutions to collect plastic from informal recyclers and businesses. Interestingly, the company won the World Economic Forum Global Technology Pioneers (2021), Circulars Award at the World Economic Forum (2018 Intel-DST Award Innovations for Digital India (2017), Millennium Alliance Grant (2016), and mBillionth Award (2015).
One of leading vertically integrated plastic recycling companies, Banyan Nation is a waste management firm that collects plastic wastes from industries and recycles them for further use. The startup utilizes its unique technology platform to integrate thousands of informal workers and produces premium-quality recycled polyolefin plastics (PE and PP) for mainstream and high-quality applications.
