BHARATI PAWASKAR
Keeping in line with the theme of this year’s World Environment Day, ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’ individuals and organisations have stepped forward with various initiatives to support the mission of making the Earth breathe. Among these is Dhairyansh Green, a green initiative company.
“We believe that small changes and work can make a big difference on our planet, community and us. We work towards being sensitive to the environment, having a zero waste lifestyle, replacing plastic, growing trees, saving water, helping farmers and rural women in having a regular source of income and leaving a better planet for the next generations,” shares Vaishali Shirodkar, proprietor, Dhairyansh Green.
Admitting that her journey towards making the planet greener and cleaner is hardly a-year-old, Shirodkar recalls that it was a trek to Himalayas that she did with her husband and her seven year old son Dhairya in May 2017 that changed the track of her life for good and for ever. “Seeing the pure water, breathing the pure air and eating raw, fresh food, all of us felt so energetic and full of life. However when we returned from that heaven to this everyday life, my son immediately took ill and that made me ponder,” she reveal. Her research on polluting levels left her shocked. “Our oceans, our land, our air, our food - everything is polluted and we are adding all the more to it every single minute. That was when I decided to say no to plastic and turn to earth-friendly products for me and my family as well as people around me,” she says. Shirodkar quit her profession as a civil engineer and interior decorator to become an earth-friendly entrepreneur and Dhairyansh Green was born in October 2017.
Working towards sustainability, Dhairyansh Green has tried to replace plastic with wood, cotton and other natural products like bamboo and seeds. From washable cotton sanitary pads and washable, reusable cloth baby diapers, cloth bags, jewellery made out of seeds to combs, razors, speakers, chopping boards, earbuds, pens, and toothbrushes made of bamboo, Dhairyansh Green offers all earth-friendly products at their store in Panaji. “Our products are also available at the first zero waste store in Goa EcoPosro and the eco-friendly store Green Goa Works which have tied up with Dhairyansh Green,” says Shirodkar who has associated with various like-minded individuals across India who manufacture similar line of products. “There is a choice; make a conscious one,” she advises as she herself began practicing before preaching. Changing one’s lifestyle is not easy but small, gradual changes can make a positive impact on environment by cutting down our plastic use, she feels.
Dhairyansh Green has partnered with Bamboo India which makes bamboo products as sustainable alternative to plastic, Eco Femme which makes washable and reusable cotton sanitary pads, Bumberry which makes washable baby diapers and Jungle Jewels which creates jewellery and fashion accessories out of seeds. Shirodkar has also tied up with a self-help group that makes cotton carry bags, refrigerator bags for storing vegetables, produce bags (to carry lintels, avoiding the unnecessary plastic packaging) etc.
Pointing out that commercial disposable sanitary pads are not only harmful to the environment but also to the human body, Shirodkar states that Eco Femme, a company that advocates sustainable living and green practices makes washable cotton sanitary pads. Why washable cotton sanitary pads one may wonder? She explains, “It’s for health reasons. Disposable menstrual pads are not sterilised and often bleached using chlorine which produce dioxins. Dioxins cause cancer and other reproductive, developmental, immunological and glandular effects. A woman in her menstruating lifetime will generate about 150 kg of disposable sanitary waste. One disposable pad equals to four plastic bags and takes 800 years to decompose. Incinerating disposable pads release dioxins and furans, which are deadly toxins known to science. A long term solution is to switch to healthier and eco-friendly alternative, such as cloth pads.”
She adds that for the same reasons, one should go for washable baby diapers. “Sanitary pads and diapers are a big cause of pollution. It is time we go back and use washable, reusable diapers for babies, which are very safe, comfortable and economic. It’s not a forceful compulsion, but an individual conscious choice,” opines Shirodkar who is happy that gradually people are accepting an eco-friendly lifestyle.
