As the world moves towards sustainability, numerous upcoming ventures are priding themselves on producing everyday items using waste.

This is supported by recent data by NITI Aayog, which estimated that from the years 2019 to 2021, India’s score in its sustainable development goals (SDGs) rose from 60 to 66 as the country amped up efforts for clean water initiatives and energy efficiency.

In fact, Kerala was recorded as receiving the highest score in the index with Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Goa in tow.

To add to the green wagon of sustainable initiatives in Kerala is Greenamor Ventures — a sustainable venture founded by 29-year-old Ardra Nair in 2021. It focuses on eco-packaging while solving the issue of global waste management by upcycling locally available coir.

The dream took shape when Ardra was pursuing her master’s in Engineering in Kerala.

Reliving the journey, she says this unconventional engineering program encouraged them to think out of the box. “I remember a project wherein we created biofuels from water hyacinth. This was the start of my journey to creating value from waste.”

It was during this period that Ardra was selected for the prestigious BIRAC social innovation fellowship, and she decided to create a project that would in the coming years change the face of how waste was perceived.

“I was intrigued by the amounts of coir waste generated in industries across Kerala. In Alappuzha alone, there are around 15 mat manufacturing industries which large amounts of coir as the byproduct. The coir fibres range from 1 to 2 mm in size and eventually pollute the landfills. My first thought was ‘why not design a project wherein these fibres could be used to create something of value?’ But then,........

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