Aakash Wadhawan
Akshay Krishna
Anjitha Ann K
Parth Kunkolienkar
Ashish Raj
Goa Institute of Management
Divya Singhal
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One ceramic production cluster in India generates 7.2 Lakh tons of waste. Clay has a memory i.e., even after hardening it through heating, it can revert back to its previous shape and the popular misconception with ceramic is that it is biodegradable, which is not the case. Ceramics take decades to degrade, hence all the waste just ends up in the landfills. Earth Tatva has taken these waste ceramics and turned them into homeware products.
Earth Tatva has found a way to take the waste ceramic that would have ended up in the landfills and make it in a form that can again be reshaped and utilized to make all products. The material can use to make all sort of products but Tatva has chosen to start with homeware as it is the most popular product that uses ceramics. The new ceramic that is formed is also stronger than the normal one in the market. This gives durable products that are of the best quality and integrity.
As a child, Mr. Shashank Nimkar was always fascinated by arts and creative works. He was sure from a young age that he wanted to pursue his interest for a career. Wastage of materials bothered him. The magnitude of materials disposed after a very short-term use is huge and he wished to contribute in reducing it. This idea perfectly aligned with his dream for a job that would add value to the whole ecosystem. Based on his personal experiences during his freelance work and a few industrial visits, he chose ceramics as the suitable recycling object. The more he learnt about the high wastage in the industry, the surer he was about his choice. After all, archaeology is based on the fact that ceramics do not degrade that easy. This venture which was initiated during his graduation is currently in its prelaunch stage. The 3-member team with 2 workers are in full swing preparations to launch Earth Tathva in the coming months.
The current plan is to focus on tableware as their only product and e commerce as their selling platform. The team hopes to achieve better reach among customers and tableware is one among the few products they can sell in a business to customer business model without intermediaries. They believe that word of mouth and discussions at a dinner table is the perfect promotion for a product like Earth Tathva. The niche market where the customers have a growing interest and commitment to a green lifestyle is the initial target market. Along with growing a healthy habit of shifting to sustainable products, a change in customer perception on relation between functionality and aesthetics is another aim.
Meeting SDGs is the additional factor that is heavily promoted in the world of business and attracts huge customer benefit and value to the brand. Since Earth Tatva’s product is completely biodegradable and has a unique tag of the utilization of waste, it will grow in its potential market in the coming years. The company sells Ceramic Tableware made from Ceramic Waste using an innovative recycling process meeting SDG 9. This helps the business grow in terms of customers, values, and revenue. Recycled products are found to be stronger than traditional ceramics. The global ceramic tableware industry has crossed 100bn $ in size and recycled products integrate well with other functionalities, like microwave and dishwasher friendliness. The business looks to project itself as the apt tableware provider in the green building space.
Ceramic Recycling supports a significant reduction in resource consumption of up to 60% mining by using recycled material. This further reduces the energy consumed in producing materials. Ceramic studios and production have a huge potential to provide green employment. The most important social impact is that it promotes a more circular lifestyle by offering recycled ceramics at a cheaper price, directly contributing to SDG 12.
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Shashank Nimkar, Founder
Earth Tatva believes that every customer should be able to go about their daily lives without having to worry about the environmental consequences of their decisions. You can accomplish this without sacrificing your lifestyle, because Earth Tatva uses 60% post-industrial landfilled ceramic rejects to create food-safe, 35 percent stronger ceramic goods that are 100% recyclable. Clearing landfills and lowering natural resource mining by 60%.