Why This Ecopreneur Is On A Quest To Go Plastic-Free?

Written By: Sonali

July 4, 2021

Highlights

How this Delhi entrepreneur pursued her dream of scuba diving?
Why did she quit it to start her venture?
What were the learnings & realizations on the way?
The story of her ‘passion to profession’ journey!
The story of building a plastic-free India!

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When Richa Malik decided to quit her cushy corporate life to pursue her dream of becoming a scuba diver instructor, little did she know that she will end up venturing into something that would change not only her life — but several other human and marine lives — entirely!

The former scuba diver was taught to carry her own bags and water bottles anywhere since childhood. A part of her knew what zero waste was and how minimalism can be followed.

While working as a diving instructor in Indonesia, Richa also started volunteering for beach clean-ups and dive clean-ups and saw the impact of plastic and what we consider as throwing ‘away’!

“The hard realisation that clean-ups alone are not enough drove me to focus towards consumption. On one particular dive, I had to chase a turtle away from a plastic bag. Plastic bags look like jellyfish underwater (turtles enjoy eating jellyfish). And this particular turtle was swimming towards what it thought was its lunch. I realised I could help that turtle on that day, but there’s no help for countless others. Over the next few months, I found a lot more plastic underwater, including packaging of the brands that I used to sell in my corporate life. Seeing the damage first-hand, I came back to India with the aim of reducing plastic consumption and The Happy Turtle was born,” the Delhi entrepreneur shares.

Read to know more about this gritty woman entrepreneur!

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I believe when people get out of their comfort zone, they end up writing their own story!

When Richa Malik decided to quit her cushy corporate life to pursue her dream of becoming a scuba diving instructor, little did she know that she will end up venturing into something that would change not only her life — but several other human and marine lives — entirely!

The former scuba diver was taught to carry her own bags and water bottles anywhere since childhood. A part of her knew what zero waste was and how minimalism can be followed.

While working as a diving instructor in Indonesia, Richa also started volunteering for beach clean-ups and dive clean-ups and saw the impact of plastic and what we consider as throwing ‘away’!

The Happy Turtle was started in October 2017 with the idea to reduce plastic consumption — however, the popular belief at that time was that an eco-friendly lifestyle meant spending more money and that it was only the responsibility of the governments and manufacturers to stop making plastic in order to get consumers to stop buying it.

Richa Malik Sonali Sharma Passion To Profession Infano The Happy Turtle CEO — Richa Malik, Founder & CEO, The Happy Turtle

This led Malik’s startup to create its own Plastic Footprint Calculator — a solution-focused tool that helps assess how much plastic an individual (or a business) uses each year and how they can reduce their plastic footprints. “We launched our online store in June 2018 on World Environment Day with a small assortment of reusable, sustainable alternatives to plastic which were made in India with the help of rural artisans. Over the past three years since our product launch, we have expanded to over 90 SKUs and work with rural artisans and women from SHGs across four states. As a result, we have helped avoid over 8 million plastic products from being used to date. In addition, our Plastic Footprint Calculator has been used by over 20,000 people to reduce their plastic footprints,” she continues.

The 36YO herself reduced her plastic footprint to less than 3 kilos per year — an average urban Indian uses 24 kilos of plastic per year. “While carrying a cloth bag and water bottle were things I grew up doing, some of the habits that changed along the way were either necessity-based or a personal choice. While diving, I switched to a menstrual cup as that was an economical, reusable solution that I could easily dive with. Soon after that, I switched to cold-pressed coconut oil for most of my moisturising needs. Now, I have a plastic-free bathroom, make my own toothpowder, use apple cider vinegar as a conditioner along with my shampoo bars,” she shares further. “I also rarely order takeaway food and prefer ordering from a place that will pack plastic-free or dishes that don’t need plastic packaging. I have stopped using an AC at home; even during peak summer and pre-covid, I would take the metro as much as possible instead of driving. I don’t buy clothes or shoes often and only buy what is needed and make it last. Switching to a sustainable lifestyle is a journey that is probably not so easy to start with as it seems daunting; however, once you take a small step, the rest of the journey seems easy.”

Establishing a plastic-free supply chain in a country where even the artisans are used to using a lot of plastic packaging was one of the initial challenges that The Happy Turtle was able to overcome successfully — becoming one of the first companies to have a plastic-free supply chain in India.

But that wasn’t the only hurdle in the way!

“When I started out to find suppliers and establish my company’s supply chain, I faced a lot of stereotypes and challenges with people asking me to transfer the call to the boss (usually indicating a man) or assuming that I am opening up a boutique or fashion outlet so would not understand supply chains and “should take their word for it”. I had to repeat my CV countless times to get taken seriously by some people. However, I chose not to work with them as I was sure that if they cannot respect a woman founder, there would be no win-win partnership with them in the future. This helped me establish a supply chain with supply partners who were helpful and respectful towards women founders, and also helped me develop a thick skin towards stereotypes that would initially get me down,” Richa recalls.

Yes, being a woman, leading a startup, handling a team and making the world a better place — the society finds it hard to handle altogether, isn’t it!!

But nothing could stop Richa from becoming what she is today! Apart from teaching humans the ways to a plastic-free life, Richa’s venture also supports a women’s SHG in UP to help them contribute to their family incomes and earn a living along with running their households. “We have also partnered with Alharh (a menstrual hygiene awareness campaign in Bihar) and created the campaign Sammaan. Through Sammaan, our customers can donate our reusable sanitary napkin kits called Unmukt, and Alharh helps distribute the kits in Bihar to help women gain access to safe, reusable menstrual hygiene products. Unmukt Sanitary Napkins are also made by the SHG women and thereby help rural women in two ways: generating a source of livelihood for the women who make them and improving access for safe menstrual hygiene products for women who receive the donated kits,” she says.

One of the most valuable lessons which Richa believes she has learned as an entrepreneur is to accept that the journey would be two steps forward, one step back. “It took a lot of effort for me to internalise this, but it has helped me look at challenges differently and expect more problems as we move further instead of assuming the journey ahead will be smooth post a certain milestone,” she continues.

In the coming years, the ecopreneur plans to grow the company both on the products and the consulting vertical — aiming to provide reusable, sustainable alternatives to most plastic products found in the house/ office and helping businesses reduce their plastic footprints by at least 30% by 2025 respectively.

As a woman entrepreneur and the sole woman founder of the company, Malik has faced multiple stereotypes both in her personal and professional life. Being a solo traveller, a scuba diver and becoming a technical diver (one of the very few Indian women to do so), Richa has realised that one can either choose to get bogged down or offended by these stereotypes or take pride in breaking them.

“I chose the latter and, over time, have developed a thick skin and the ability to laugh at such stereotypes. I believe that while the world is changing for the better, and gender equality may be a reality someday. However, we need to stop waiting for that day to come and start now by not letting the stereotypes affect us and taking pride in being the one who breaks them. To every woman out there, keep doing what you are passionate about — irrespective of the stereotypes. Don’t let naysayers get you down. There will be plenty of both along the journey, and if your objective is clear to you and you are convinced about it, then their opinion should not matter. Challenges and setbacks are bound to happen in entrepreneurship, but if your motivation for your startup is truly intrinsic and is something you believe in, then the setbacks will not and should not get you down,” Richa ends on this note!

You can visit The Happy Turtle here or follow them on Instagram!

Stay tuned to this space and our series #PassionToProfession to read about more such women, their inspiring journeys and stories.

Write your story to us and let the world get inspired by your wonderful journey!

Sonali

A 'non-9-5 desk job' ambivert geek who chooses her own audience, Sonali loves sharing stories and finding the corners where humanity still exists! She believes that every individual's story is unique and special. She loves writing about the untouched and unspoken segments of society. When not writing, you can find her listening to someone's stories or playing with dogs. Sonali values mental health and encourages people to speak their heart out!

Kalpana Saroj — India’s Original ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ & First Women Entrepreneur!

Written By: Sonali

January 10, 2021 | 01:13 PM |

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Zeher ki pudiya is what Kalpana Saroj’s maternal uncle used to call her as a kid. Little did he anticipate that four decades later, the same zeher ki pudiya will emerge as India’s allegedly first successful woman entrepreneur.

Born in poverty and subjected to inhuman abuse, she overcame impossible odds to become one of the most sought after entrepreneurs in the country. As a Dalit woman growing up in Roparkheda village in Akola district, Kalpana’s caste and gender served as a double-edged sword in her journey to the top.

“I was born in Vidarbha. My father was a constable, and we used to live in the police quarters assigned to us. I had three sisters and two brothers. I was a bright student and loved school. In the quarters where we stayed, the other children and I would play with abandon. It is the adults who posed the problem. They expressed displeasure if I ever came over, scolded their children to play with me and forbade them from visiting my home or accepting any food I offered.

This attitude, though hurtful, was unsurprising. It is the behaviour of the faculty at school that shocked me. They tried to make me sit apart from other students, constantly prevented me from participating in extracurricular activities and undermined any dreams I had for myself. It didn’t matter anyway as I was pulled out of school in class seven and married off,” Kalpana says.

“My father was not a very educated man, but courtesy his job in the law enforcement, he was emancipated in his views and wanted me to complete my education. But in the Dalit community where I grew up, child marriage was the norm. My father’s refusal was drowned out by the clamour and clangour of the extended family. My father was powerless against their united front. I was powerless,” she continues.

Her in-laws looked at her as no more than a ‘housemaid to cook and clean, for free.’ She was brought home by her father within six months of her marriage. Like all women who return to their parents’ home after marriage, she had to endure the stigma. One sultry afternoon, she downed poison. Kalpana’s aunt saved her in the nick of time.

The suicide attempt brought a formidable change in her. “The Kalpana before the suicide was very emotional and easily hurt. For her, there was nothing but darkness in life. When I got out of the hospital, I figured that it would have struggles, if I have a life, and it is my job to face them. People will bad mouth me even after I’m dead, so I might as well live,” she said.

She convinced her parents to let her move to Mumbai, where she stayed with an uncle and committed to her tailoring gig full time. A little while later, due to bureaucratic shuffles, her father lost his job. She was the eldest daughter and only earning member of the family. She put down her savings as deposit and rented a small room at forty rupees a month. Her siblings and parents joined her here. The space was cramped, and money was tight, but they were together, and that’s what mattered.

“As I mentioned, money was scarce. Amidst this, my youngest sister fell ill. We could not afford her treatment. We scrounged everywhere but to no avail. She kept crying, “Didi, save me. I don’t want to die.” But I could not help her. Her words are seared in my memory. That’s when I realised that life without money is useless and I was going to earn lots of it. I started working sixteen hours a day, a habit I still maintain,” she says further.

In the mid-90s, after working at a hosiery shop for a few months, she decided to open her own boutique. At work, Kalpana would often listen to the radio. This helped her secure a loan of Rs 50,000 after she learnt about government schemes for Dalits while tuning in to a programme.

She used this money to start an NGO, which is now known as Kalpana Saroj Foundation. “Having gone through the pain of not being able to find a job, I wanted to provide for as many others as I could,” she says.

It took her two years to pay off her initial loan. Around the same time, a man came to her with a proposal to sell a parcel of land under litigation at Rs 2.5 lakh’s throwaway price. With that, she struck gold in more ways than one. Not only did the value of the land shoot up to Rs 50 lakh after the litigation was cleared, but it also paved the path for her to enter the construction business in Mumbai.

Later, the Kamani Tubes’ labour force sought her out in 2000. The company, started by Ramjibhai Kamani, a former freedom-fighter who both Nehru and Gandhi regarded as a close aide, was on the verge of closing down. The Kamani empire — Kamani Tubes, Kamani Engineering and Kamani Metal — had shone bright back in its day. But, after Ramjibhai’s death in 1965, differences cropped up among the sons and company became collateral damage.

In 2000, the workers approached Saroj, asking her to take over as the company’s president. Her advisors termed it a suicide mission. “But all I thought about was the plight of the workers,” she says.

She resumed the workers’ monthly wage cycles, ran an analysis of their debt, and realised that it largely constituted penalties and interest. So, in 2006, she decided to approach the then finance minister who called an all-heads meeting with the chairpersons of banks including Dena Bank, Canara Bank and Bank of India. She reasoned with them — if the company goes into liquidation, no one gets a single penny, but if the penalties are waived off, the lenders will at least recover their principal amounts. This resonated with them — the banking heads not only signed away the interest but also agreed to deduct 25 per cent from the principal if the money was paid back within a year — and Saroj delivered.

In the same year, she was appointed chairperson of the company, and the court transferred ownership of Kamani Tubes to her. In 2011, they left the ‘sick’ zone.

Today, Kalpana has made the journey from a Maruti 800 in 1997 to owning several cars now. She remarried sometime in 1980 – “see, I don’t even remember the year” – at the age of 22 and had two children, who studied in Germany and London. If one asks about her husband, Samir Saroj, she only smiles. “I don’t think I can discuss that.”

“If Babasaheb ( Ambedkar) can go on to do what he did without the support that I had, I can do at least a percentage of what he accomplished. I have so much more support than him,” she says.

In the year 2013, she was awarded the Padma Shri for her contributions to Trade and Industry, for valorously taking on a failing business. In fact, the promoters, who had been granted time until 2011 to clear the back-wages, managed to disburse them in 2009 itself, within a few months. And it was at that grand ceremony, where the workers were awarded their dues — Rs. 80 million — where Home Minister R R Patil said, “It was destiny that sent all of you (workers) to Kalpana Saroj.”

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