Rhea Mazumdar Singhal at AIMA Aspire’s WomenSpeak Session.
It is extremely important to be educated and aware of the damage that plastic can cause and we can start with sustainability to solve a problem, said Ms. Rhea Mazumdar Singhal, Founder, Ecoware & Chairperson, Indian Women Network at AIMA Aspire’s WomenSpeak Session.
Having founded one of India’s green enterprises, making a mammoth contribution to the ‘plastic replacement’ movement, and her company being a leader in providing affordable, plastic-alternative products, Ms. Rhea Mazumdar Singhal, Founder, Ecoware & Chairperson, Indian Women Network is also one of the young leaders in the World Economic Forum and a Nari Shakti Puraskar awardee, and she was rightly qualified to deliberate AIMA Aspire’s WomenSpeak Session on the theme- ‘Environment & Entrepreneurship: Saving the world, one product at a time’.
Ms. Singhal started off the Session by acquainting the audience about the very issue of how plastic pollution has caused untold damage to the environment and adversely impacted human as well as marine life. There is a need for an ecosystem to tackle this problem. Her company was also conceived on the same notion to have products created out of common crop waste into sustainable alternatives to single-use plastics. Most of her inspiration to start Ecoware also came from the fact that her mother suffered from cancer, and somehow the use of plastic or any other metal was related to the cause of cancer.
Ms. Singhal also spoke about how the customer base of her company had multiplied over the years and that it would be partnering with the FMCG and E-commerce sectors, along with Sustainable Fashion for further business. She further mentioned that these could be achievements and milestones for her company, but they are only indications of how conscious the public is about the zero-waste approach and sustainability now. And her company remains committed to the cause of being a “steadfast solution to plastic alternatives, giving back to the society and solving an issue that is of a global scale.”
About the challenges of the company standing ground as a green enterprise, she said that it initially faced manufacturing issues and it was difficult to convince investors, which is why it is bootstrapped. However, once the grounding was done on education and awareness about plastic waste, it started grabbing eyeballs with others following suit to build companies with the same sentiment.
Talking about her status as a woman entrepreneur she said that there’s a special advantage in being one as they can share their journey, share their story with other women aspiring to start a business, and encourage them. She also added that one can also be a mentor and a role model to many women who
Lastly, her message to the audience was also an affirmation of being educated and being aware of the damage that plastic can cause. As for those getting into the green space, she advised them to “believe in innovation’ and “start with sustainability to solve a problem.”
Watch the full Session- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3ph16dYjpE
