Page 39 - Shashwat Let Nature Be - Approach to Integrated Sustainability
P. 39
Chennai contributes 0.07 kg per capita waste, the
In March 2018, the duo started Ecoindian organic highest in India and Ecoindian became part of the
store in Chennai sighting the need and potential garbage contributor to the existing humongous landfill
in retailing organic farm produce and market local problem. The major part of the dumped single-use
artisanal products. The Ecoindian team started plastic is from toxic pouches used for packing products
purchasing from fresh farm produce directly from that travel from shop to kitchen. The partners tried to
organic farmers, artisans, self-help groups and address this issue, but they could not find any better
farmers’ associations after thorough understanding alternative to replace retail packaging.
of their farming practices and production process.
Bulk groceries procured were repacked for retail
sales in plastic covers like any other conventional The Idea
store. They realized that their convenience store The brooding guilt prompted to launch plastic-free,
was soon heading towards being inconvenient to package-free retail store. After an initial research
the environment. The intention towards spreading from various zero-waste stores in Singapore and Hong
healthy food and positive environment was getting Kong, Prem and Pradeep decided to make Ecoindian a
crushed due to single-use plastic packing of non-mass produced, zero-waste organic retail store in
organic products. April 2019. The concept facilitated them to find various
solutions for reducing landfill. The groceries were
made package-free or minimally packed. It encouraged
its customers to consciously buy any quantity as per
their requirement, thereby reducing food waste.
Since there is no packing cost for the products,
customers were given 5–7 per cent cost benefit on
their shopping bill. Also, customers are incentivized
with cash discount, if they bring their own containers
for shopping.
There was some initial ambiguity whether the
customers would appreciate extra effort in zero-
waste shopping and change their entire buying
pattern. But the customers’ response was surprisingly
overwhelming. There is an intense participation and
increasing conversations among the enthusiasts about
plastic-free lifestyle all across India and overseas.
The Next Step
Ecoindian aims to create an ecosystem through
guilt-free retail and knowledge sharing on sustainable
practices to strengthen the conscious consumerism
that restores us back in the eco-life cycle. The team
will continuously study to find sustainable alternatives
to reduce landfill. As a first step, Ecoindian will be
creating a cutlery bank for community use from
this festive season to replace disposable cutleries.
Ecoindian will soon launch a zero-waste ecommerce
site, www.ecoindian.com, and plans to open their next
store in Bengaluru. p
Store address Contact
Ecoindian, The Zero Waste Store Prem Antony
DECEMBER 2019
No 19, Dr Ranga Rd, Mylapore, prem@ecoindian.com
Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600004 +91 9884488458
In March 2018, the duo started Ecoindian organic highest in India and Ecoindian became part of the
store in Chennai sighting the need and potential garbage contributor to the existing humongous landfill
in retailing organic farm produce and market local problem. The major part of the dumped single-use
artisanal products. The Ecoindian team started plastic is from toxic pouches used for packing products
purchasing from fresh farm produce directly from that travel from shop to kitchen. The partners tried to
organic farmers, artisans, self-help groups and address this issue, but they could not find any better
farmers’ associations after thorough understanding alternative to replace retail packaging.
of their farming practices and production process.
Bulk groceries procured were repacked for retail
sales in plastic covers like any other conventional The Idea
store. They realized that their convenience store The brooding guilt prompted to launch plastic-free,
was soon heading towards being inconvenient to package-free retail store. After an initial research
the environment. The intention towards spreading from various zero-waste stores in Singapore and Hong
healthy food and positive environment was getting Kong, Prem and Pradeep decided to make Ecoindian a
crushed due to single-use plastic packing of non-mass produced, zero-waste organic retail store in
organic products. April 2019. The concept facilitated them to find various
solutions for reducing landfill. The groceries were
made package-free or minimally packed. It encouraged
its customers to consciously buy any quantity as per
their requirement, thereby reducing food waste.
Since there is no packing cost for the products,
customers were given 5–7 per cent cost benefit on
their shopping bill. Also, customers are incentivized
with cash discount, if they bring their own containers
for shopping.
There was some initial ambiguity whether the
customers would appreciate extra effort in zero-
waste shopping and change their entire buying
pattern. But the customers’ response was surprisingly
overwhelming. There is an intense participation and
increasing conversations among the enthusiasts about
plastic-free lifestyle all across India and overseas.
The Next Step
Ecoindian aims to create an ecosystem through
guilt-free retail and knowledge sharing on sustainable
practices to strengthen the conscious consumerism
that restores us back in the eco-life cycle. The team
will continuously study to find sustainable alternatives
to reduce landfill. As a first step, Ecoindian will be
creating a cutlery bank for community use from
this festive season to replace disposable cutleries.
Ecoindian will soon launch a zero-waste ecommerce
site, www.ecoindian.com, and plans to open their next
store in Bengaluru. p
Store address Contact
Ecoindian, The Zero Waste Store Prem Antony
DECEMBER 2019
No 19, Dr Ranga Rd, Mylapore, prem@ecoindian.com
Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600004 +91 9884488458
