Support, including funds for pilot projects, has been given to nine Indian start-ups in order to help them create circular solutions for the textile sector.
The H&M Foundation, through its multi-partner initiative Saamuhika Shakti, supported the ‘Techtonic – Innovations for Circular Economy’ innovation challenge, which yielded the awards. The program is managed by the nonprofit organisation Social Alpha.
In the textile industry and elsewhere, new circular value chains are emerging, and this presents an urgent chance to concurrently assist social upliftment.
The Techtonic – ideas for Circular Economy innovation challenge seeks to identify and foster ideas that boost waste management in India and stabilise garbage picker earnings. In order to achieve an inclusive circular economy, it is critical to strike a balance between social responsibility and environmental care, as demonstrated by the inventions that were awarded.
Eleven community partners have joined forces with Saamuhika Shakti to provide close support to the waste picker community in areas that the waste pickers themselves have identified as important. These areas include safe working conditions, access to social services and high-quality education, water and sanitation, upskilling or alternative career opportunities, innovations in waste management streams, changing the public’s perception of waste pickers, and expanding economic opportunities.
The textile-based awardees are:
Flaxloop by Canvaloop – Which uses a chemo-mechanical process that transforms agricultural waste fibers from Linseed straw into textile-grade fibres with qualities that are on par with linen.
FibreSENSE by KOSHA.ai – KOSHA.ai has developed the handheld device FibreSENSE, which can instantly identify the material composition of textiles, increasing the value of discarded textiles by ensuring they are properly sorted for recycling or upcycling.
MicroHues by Microbeworks Scientific – Which offers natural, biodegradable textile dyes derived from microbes, reducing water usage, and contamination from synthetic dyes.
Go Do Good – Which creates sustainable packaging, insulation, ink and coating from renewable materials such as agro-waste, wool-waste and seaweed.
Banofi – Which converts banana crop waste into biodegradable vegan leather, reducing water usage, carbon emissions and toxic waste compared to conventional animal leather.
NovoEarth – Which creates a biodegradable polymer from keratin protein, deriving from chicken feathers which is an abundant waste byproduct of the poultry industry.
