Unique initiative: Dilip P. founder of Ewalusion in Chennai. It is a city-based start up that focuses on eco-friendly products: bagasse, cornstarch and areca leaf packaging.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Some of the cafes that are popping up around Chennai have quite understood the assignment. With eco consumerism growing, sustainable packaging businesses are following suit. “Sugarcane pulp, which is the bagasse packaging, has been on the rise,” says Pradeep Sekar, who is running Plastic Free Madras, an eco-friendly packaging business in Chennai. It connects restaurants and individuals with sustainable packaging solutions sourcing from small scale industries and local artisans. “Most of our orders are for Bagasse cutlery, like trays, boxes and food containers,” he says.
Brands are waking up to the fact that both image and service are important. “The market for sustainable packaging is blowing up,” says Heerr, founder of WhatAbout Sustainable Packaging, a start-up in the city that has been running since the pandemic. “Companies are becoming more conscious in terms of how they are portraying themselves to their customers, and that’s also why sustainability is becoming a must-have for some of the brands,” she said.
‘Growing more conscious’
With not only selling the packaging products, Ms. Heerr is all about full on strategies, from consultation to custom designing the package that fits each brand’s identity as well as the end product. “Our clientele are from fashion, apparel and beauty & care industry. They have also been growing more conscious on how their packaging impact their image,” Ms. Heerr says. Perhaps, that leaves a cue that packaging shouldn’t be another waste pile on the planet but a part of the solution.
“I started the eco-friendly food packaging company in 2018 after spending a year doing individual research on the damage plastic is doing to mankind. We have to start taking action somewhere,” says Dilip P., founder of Ewalusion. This Chennai-based start up focuses on three main eco-friendly products: bagasse, cornstarch and areca leaf packaging. “Cornstarch packaging in particular has proven to be more leak proof,” says Mr. Dilip, who has been supplying meal trays and cutlery to some restaurants in Chennai.
Sustainable packaging
In June 2018, the Tamil Nadu government banned the manufacture, storage, supply, transport, sale, and distribution of a certain type of plastic. Around this time, Mr. Pradeep, who had been educating schools in Chennai about sustainability, decided to launch his own eco-friendly business in 2019. “Even though I had about 400 customers along these years, they were not always consistent because of the price level,” said Mr. Pradeep. Pointing out the misconceptions, he adds, “Many customers still reach out with queries about leaks, but the advancements in sustainable packaging have been plenty.”
While eco-friendly alternatives are great for the nature, they come heavy on the pocket for customers. “Once the market for sustainability expands with a larger crowd for it, the prices will come down,” says Ms. Heerr, whose business not only aggregates but manufactures cloth and paper bags.
“Nothing moves without a package to hold it together,” she continues, “and it is even better when sustainable packaging take the spotlight.” After all, it is for the planet and people.
Published – December 15, 2024 11:25 pm IST
