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On the 46th year of Earth Day, we will start with one beautiful quote that will remind every one of us where we stand.
The Earth does not belong to us: we belong to the Earth.
- Marlee Matlin
"Earth Day is the largest, most recognizable face of the environmental movement," said Kathleen Rogers, president of the Earth Day Network. More than 193 countries celebrate Earth Day every year and today, where activities take place like planting trees, raising awareness about recycling, volunteering for green projects, and reducing the number of energy people consume, and there are some who celebrate earth day, every day!
In every party and function attended, we are provided with disposable plastic plates, which only litters the place. However, Alok Banerjee, a former copywriter, has conceived an alternative to save Earth from plastics, "100 percent biodegradable dinnerware."
Anahata, where elegant, sturdy, leak proof dinnerware’s which include soup bowls, plates, and spoons are created from areca leaves. Once disposed off, the chemical-free disposable dinnerware range turn itself into manure within two weeks.
The idea came to life when Alok himself was being served on polystyrene plastic plates. This was the time when Chennai witnessed one of the worst rainfall in 100 years. After a lot of research and resources, Anahata was created. Anahata is just an initiative to bring people sustainable solutions for everyday stuff.
Anahata is the Sanskrit word for the Heart Chakra. The company, follows the philosophy of "Love the Planet”, creates dinnerware without creating any disadvantages. Since areca leaf has high heat-resistance, the products made by Anahata are microwavable, in addition to being freezer-friendly and water-resistant.
According to Alok, "Anahata supports waste management. Even when we work in a cell, in many ways we are still oblivious to the difficulties caused to the environment. Even well-educated people are not aware of the effects of the disposed plastics."
Challenges
"Handling the scale and distribution, controlling logistics and maintaining the products in good condition is a task". The company currently procures leaves from the South of India and Assam. Another challenge is the managing costs due to lack of volume and changing the mindset. Is it okay to save money at the cost of harming the planet?
Alok also spoke about the problem most of the people in Mumbai are facing currently - Water scarcity. "When we talk about water usage or wastage of one house, imagine the water that is being used at restaurants and events".
Today, on Earth Day 2016, Anahata was selected for the Vendor Mela where they received an astonishing response and was also recently featured in HindustanTimes. Anahata aims to reach out to corporates, caterers and cafes so that we can cut down on the use of Styrofoam and plastic disposables.
The one-month-old startup, which is currently following the B2C platform, plans to reach the audience of B2B also, where they can hold the advantage of using natural resources and also cut the cost.