Seaweed, egg shells, cacao, coir — ingredients from Pune startup’s sustainability playbook

The company has a lab from which it emerges with new materials to replace plastic. Among these are coir pouches that can be used instead of bubble wraps, and seaweed films, which are an alternative to PE Coated Paper (The non-recyclable plastic that is used in bags, bottles, packaging, paper cuts and food containers, among others). PE can exist in the environment for centuries, damaging the planet with pollution.

“When Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned sustainability in the Interim Budget, we felt very positive. There’s a lot of comfort because people see these keywords and messages and this means more ownership for startups like us,” says Gandhi.

Packaging made by GDG to deliver cakes, laddoos and other desserts use paper that the company has developed from plant-based gums according to 3,000-year-old knowledge. The ink used to print the names of client companies on boxes and packages is water-based and made from plant or organic waste matter and is biodegradable unlike a lot of inks available in the market that use petroleum ingredients. Wool-waste is turned into customised pouches and inner liners that are six times more resistance than bubble wrap and foam packaging.

Gandhi was in Class I or II, when she spent six months turning old clothes and discarded material at home into cards and knick knacks to sell at her housing complex. In college, where she studied design, Gandhi was that student who would go to the hardware shops to pick up electrical wire and other stuff to make something experimental rather than follow the book.

No surprises then, that she has spent the last four years trying to crack the code to make white ink for eco-friendly printing. “Till now, we had seven colours, black being the most predominant. Now, we have added white,” she says.

Her clients are other innovative companies who are trying to do business the right way. “The market is very positive. There’s a lot of acceptance for sustainable packaging. People are curious and open to trying out options, especially because the price points between synthetic and sustainable materials is not very big,” says Gandhi. Though the bootstrapped company is growing in revenue and team strength, GDG is not looking for funding.

Their biggest challenge is green-washing, ie the presence of products in the market that claim to be eco-friendly but are not. “The end consumer doesn’t have the knowledge. They trust the manufacturer or the vendor who is selling them these products. The best way for someone to be more aware is to read more articles and be careful,” says Gandhi.