Mind your carbon footprint!

We live in an era where we don’t know life without innovation. We created it, got used to it, and gradually, our advancement is the main reason why our planet is slowly dying. For instance, plastic! Plastic is everywhere – supermarkets, restaurants, our cars, our non-stick frying pans and whatnot. According to National Geographic research, we have a mere 9.2 billion tons of plastic stuff to deal with. Of that, more than 6.9 billion tons have become waste. And of that waste, a staggering 6.3 billion tons never made it to a recycling bin – a figure that has stunned the scientists who crunched the numbers in 2017.

No one knows how much unrecycled plastic waste ends up in the ocean, and how long will it take to decompose. Unfortunately, plastic doesn’t really decompose; it just breaks down into smaller bits or microplastic. And those bits might be floating around the world’s oceans somewhere, sponging up toxins to add to the ones already in them, waiting to be eaten by some hapless fish; and ultimately perhaps by one of us.

As of now, not everyone sees the harm that we are doing to our planet, but life is changing bit by bit. Climate change is overwhelming, air pollution is getting worse every day and marine life is endangered all because of our reckless usage of resources and producing more waste that we can handle.

Fortunately, there are still people who care enough to fix things and make them better. People and organisations around the world have been promoting eco-friendly products to try and contribute to saving our only world. In Pakistan, we too have some eco-friendly businesses popping up and are dedicated to the cause. And, amazingly, the major driving force behind them are women.

“I started Recircle in September 2017. In my last semester, I took a course called ‘Global Ecology’, it was a lot about the environment and how human activities are harming the planet. I became environmentally conscious and started making switches in my daily life like using bamboo toothbrushes and not using plastic bottles etc. But then, I also realised how our pads are such a hazard as well because they are made of plastic. So, my Co-founder (now husband) came across this article about menstrual cups and he suggested that I try it. I found that it’s not only sustainable but women from developing countries are moving towards this solution; because it’s affordable and can last for up to 8 to 10 years,” tells Wasma Imran, Co-founder of Recircle, a Pakistani menstrual cup brand. “So, I contacted Ruby Cup and bought a bunch of menstrual cups and tried them out. I then started talking to people about it and did surveys in university and on women groups. And, turns out only five per cent knew about it and those who were using it were living abroad. No one in Pakistan was using it, so that set Recircle in motion. I did a lot of research and consultations for over a year before we actually could make our own menstrual cup,” adds Wasma.

Similarly, working full time as a teacher and a mental health counsellor at a private university, Emaan Rangoonwala started Code Green two years ago, a brand that offers a wide range of eco-friendly products – including but not limited to, bamboo toothbrushes, shampoo and conditioner bars, metal straws, reusable cups, reusable diapers and more. “I started reading up on how the pads that we use on a monthly basis have plastic in them and how that plastic doesn’t disintegrate or doesn’t disappear for hundreds of years. On more research, I found that there’s plastic in everything so that’s how it started. It is in my upbringing to be kind to the planet – like don’t waste water, food, electricity, be kind to animals – so this really hit hard. I tried a couple of things myself first and decided that these weren’t actually bad. And, I thought maybe there are more people like me who want to make the switch but they don’t know where to get the stuff from or even know if the switch is necessary,” shares Emaan.

22-year-old Bakhtawar Rehman is the Co-founder of Calm & Balm, established in January 2019, a brand that offers skin and hair care products made with organic ingredients wrapped in butter paper inside a metal tin. “I have always been obsessed with DIY, skin care, hair care since I was young. I used to research a lot of ingredients, formulations and DIYs online and that’s where my obsession turned into a business. I was 15 years old when I first formulated my own hair oil recipe which is also our best seller. Calm & Balm is one of the few trying to dent the environment by enacting a plastic free initiative in Pakistan. We wanted something that not only has an effect on the environment, but also does wonders for our customers.”

Like most businesses, these brands had to face their fair set of unique challenges, but one thing that is common among them is that they are working towards the same goal: sustainability.

“When I started up, the companies that were around that time were not very friendly or supportive. When I met with them face-to-face, and told them about venturing into starting an eco-friendly company, they would say they’re interested but when I’d follow up, I’d be ignored.

But once my company started doing well, those same brands returned to support. So, I had mixed feelings, but the new upcoming brands are really nice and enthusiastic,” reveals Emaan. “Another one of the biggest challenges that I faced was lack of time as I work full-time. Soon after the business started, I got married and then I got very sick, and that took a whole bunch of my time. Then, I didn’t have a background in business so learning everything from scratch was also time-consuming. Time has constantly been a big, big challenge to sit down and work, or to expand, or market it more, do more awareness posts. Finally, the finances, as this was something I was doing with my own savings. Oftentimes, I had to forgo things that I wanted to spend on but decided to save that amount to invest in more products for Code Green,” she adds.

Wasma on the other hand, had to face more marketing challenges since they were selling a product that was considered a ‘taboo’. “It’s hard to sell cups here since the tampons are also considered a taboo, but the consumers have become more responsive.

Our focus has now changed from introducing to rather convincing them to switch to menstrual cups. It makes me happy when someone makes the switch. We also keep in contact with our customers and to see if they are still using it. I recently sent out an email to 50 customers and out of them 90 per cent were still on the cup!” enthuses Wasma. “We make sure that everybody on the team has to be open to period talk. Even if you’re a man, you should learn about periods. Moreover, we have to be careful while giving sessions regarding period poverty and Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) and make sure we include men in the conversation. We are trying to make awareness around periods common and provide a sustainable, hygienic solution to it,” she informs.

Like most businesses during the pandemic, the eco-conscious businesses took a hit as well. “During the pandemic, I was still getting orders but I wasn’t going to be sending them out.

There was no way I was taking a risk. But, overall the orders were less and it was harder to convince people to be careful about their single-use consumption.

They were like, since it’s Covid, we have to be careful of the contamination and have to dispose off stuff to stop the spread.

Even the big brands globally that were previously allowing you to take your own containers or cups refused to offer that. Even for shopping, people used plastic bags, not realising that there is still another way to be safe both ways,” illuminates Emaan. “In terms of operations, my work at my day job had increased as we shifted teaching and therapy online, so it took a while to adjust with it. Besides that, some of my products that were being manufactured locally, the production stopped. Vendors that I was getting stuff from – here and abroad – stopped supplying and raw material wasn’t available.”

However, Bakhtawar believes that it wasn’t as bad. “During the pandemic the business didn’t suffer as much since e-commerce businesses were back at running soon after the two-week full lockdown. The only impact it had was the shortage of inventory which we faced in August instead of March,” she shares. Whereas Wasma informs that they were getting more orders for the menstrual cups as women were at home and would be available to receive their orders.

In the short-term, these changes and switches to an eco-conscious lifestyle are challenging to implement, but since it’s for a greater cause, the fraternity is generally very welcoming. “Businesses are different in terms of product range. But since our goals and motives are the same, we definitely support each other,” claims Bakhtawar.

“Not only are the eco-friendly businesses, but the consumers so generous. I don’t know how. We have made so many mistakes earlier on in the business like delayed orders, missing messages just general business mistakes but they have been so forgiving. They always reach out and appreciate the work and they build us up.

In terms of businesses, I took help from a lot of established businesses. Like, Ruby Cup happens to be a huge brand in Europe and they have an amazing outreach in Africa as well and they really helped us develop the cup.

Eva Cup and OrganiCup also responded well to our research. So in my experience, they were really nice. Even small businesses like Code Green and Trashit were really supportive. It’s a very valuable community and amazing!” concurs Wasma.

“The target market was slim if we talk about around 2-3 years ago, but it’s increasing with every passing year. People in Pakistan are moving towards natural alternatives but this market still needs a lot of educating,” elucidates Bakhtawar.

While real solutions will require action on a global scale, there are choices you can make in your day-to-day life to reduce your own carbon footprint.