D2C Start-up ‘The Better Home’ is India’s first FMCG Company to recycle 100% of its Packaging Materials; reaffirming commitment to SDGs 2030 & Circular Economy

Marking a significant contribution to India’s nascent circular economy, The Better Home is the country’s first sustainability-focused brand to run a recycling program for all of its packaging material. The Bengaluru-based startup has achieved this through an ambitious ‘take back program’ that enables consumers to send all used packaging back to the company for recycling.

According to the Pollution Control Board of India 26,000 tons of plastic waste is generated by India every day – close to the weight of 9,000 Asian elephants. Of this over 10,000 tons is uncollected plastic that eventually ends up in the natural environment — in our seas and oceans or piling up on our lands. According to the MacArthur’s Eponymous Foundation, by 2050, the amount of plastic in seas and oceans across the world will weigh more than the fishes. The Municipal Waste Collection System is already burdened with an alarming increase in plastic waste, fuelled by the rise of plastic packaging due to the rise of e-commerce and all FMCG products packaged in Single-Use Plastic.

That’s what this new D2C brand The Better Home has set out to change, in order to save our environment and take part in the country’s declaration to adopt circular economic practices – The company runs a recycling program in collaboration with a local waste management company. The recycling initiative is part of its commitment to a green economy, in keeping with the sustainable development goals (SDG) 2030 set by the United Nations (UN).

The eco-friendly consumer start-up producing naturally-derived child- and pet-friendly home cleaners, leverages technology to make the switch to a sustainable lifestyle as easy as possible for their customers. They have built a system that allows customers to customize their own kit based on usage patterns, to ensure there is no wastage of resources. With direct contact to all of their customers across the country, they are in constant touch with them, collecting data of the brand’s impact on the planet and monitoring the reuse and recycling of all their packaging.

The Better Home, having already shipped more than 58,000 units of cleaners to over 360 cities across the country till date, has successfully engaged thousands of consumers in its recycling initiative. By helping consumers adopt ecologically safe cleaning products, the company has also saved more than 45 million litres of contaminated water from entering the ocean over the last 6 months.

“It’s been amazing to see the love we’re getting for our products – we have enabled about 7000 homes to switch to eco-friendly alternatives in the past 4 months of operations, and our sales are doubling every month. As we scale, our core purpose still remains sustainability and impact, and that stays at the heart of everything we do. Our first kit comes in reusable bottles with no plastic in our secondary packaging (not even plastic tape!) All subsequent kits come with Refill pouches sent with self-addressed envelopes so we can collect it for recycling. We then send them to a licensed waste management company to responsibly dispose of them. So none of our packagings ever sees the face of a landfill or an ocean. In addition, the switch from conventional cleaners to ecofriendly products by our customers has helped us save more than 45 million litres of contaminated water from entering our oceans – and this is only the beginning,” says Dhimant Parekh, Founder & CEO, The Better Home.

Launched in February, just before the COVID 19 pandemic erupted in India the brand aligns with the SDGs 2030 in more than one way.

“The SDGs are aimed at a better and healthy life for all living creatures and as an eco-conscious, responsible enterprise, we are working towards achieving those in every possible way. The Better Home cleaners are free of harsh and potentially dangerous chemicals. In fact, the wastewater produced from floor mopping and laundry using our cleaners can safely be repurposed in the garden. We are committed to responsible production across the value chain from ingredients and packaging to end of life solutions. Our products help users be more resource-efficient by reducing the impact on our water bodies and make responsible consumption an easy choice. This, in turn, plays an important role in protecting marine life. Additionally, we partner with small and medium Indian businesses across the country through our supply chain, which aligns with UN’s goal of full and productive employment, and decent work for all by 2030,” says Anuradha Parekh, Co-founder, The Better Home.