The nationwide innovation challenge Techtonic – Innovations for Circular Economy is run by Social Alpha and backed by H&M Foundation through our multipartner initiative Saamuhika Shakti.
As new circular value chains emerge in the textile industry and beyond, there is an urgent opportunity to simultaneously support social upliftment. Saamuhika Shakti has brought together eleven local partners who are working closely to support the waste picker community in various aspects – that the waste pickers themselves have identified – such as safe working conditions, access to social services and good quality education, water and sanitation, up-skilling or access to alternative jobs, innovations in waste management streams, shifting the perceptions around waste pickers, as well as increasing economic opportunities.
The innovation challenge Techtonic – Innovations for Circular Economy aims to find and support innovations that accelerate waste management in India, while increasing and improving the stability of waste picker incomes. The awarded innovations highlight the importance of balancing environmental stewardship with social responsibility in the path towards an inclusive circular economy.
Meet the 2024 winners
- Flaxloop by Canvaloop – 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. By utilizing agro-waste, they also provide additional income to farmers and will train and work directly with informal waste pickers along their value chain.
- FibreSENSE by KOSHA.ai – KOSHA.ai has developed the handheld device FibreSENSE, which can instantly identify the material composition of textiles. This increases the value of discarded textiles by ensuring they are properly sorted for recycling or upcycling. Their solution also offers upskilling for waste pickers as well as job opportunities within textile sorting and recycling.
- MicroHues by Microbeworks Scientific – offers natural, biodegradable textile dyes derived from microbes, reducing water usage, and contamination from synthetic dyes. They aim to upskill and integrate waste pickers in their operations to become lab technicians and assistants.
- Go Do Good – creates sustainable packaging, insulation, ink and coating from renewable materials such as agro-waste, wool-waste and seaweed. Their work empowers rural communities, particularly women, through skill development and employment opportunities, fostering social upliftment and economic independence.
- Banofi – converts banana crop waste into biodegradable vegan leather, reducing water usage, carbon emissions and toxic waste compared to conventional animal leather. By sourcing waste from smallholder farmers, they boost incomes, reduce crop burning, and they will also upskill and integrate waste pickers with jobs along their value chain.
- Bintix – leverages technology to collect, tag, and analyze household dry waste with the aim to improve waste segregation, traceability and recycling efficiency. They also uplift waste workers by providing upskilling, better working conditions, and ensuring they have minimal contact with hazardous waste.
- NovoEarth – creates a biodegradable polymer from keratin protein, deriving from chicken feathers which is an abundant waste byproduct of the poultry industry. They aim to increase social inclusion and offer job opportunities by integrating and upskilling waste pickers along their value chain.
- Sunbird Straws – addresses plastic pollution and creates biodegradable straws from fallen coconut leaves that otherwise gets burnt in open kitchens and landfills. They also combat rural and urban female unemployment by creating jobs and better livelihood opportunities for women.
- Wricks by Angirus – Angirus aims to reduce construction-related pollution by converting plastic and industrial waste into durable building materials, such as Wricks. They also improve livelihoods by integrating waste pickers into their supply chain, offering fair employment and dignified working conditions, fostering social equity.
