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Sustainable practices in the baking industry: With the rising focus on healthy eating, the newly outcropped bakeries and cloud kitchens are catering to the demand for vegan and gluten-free products as their USP. In addition, they have also introduced healthier alternatives to calorie-heavy desserts, like baked seed crackers in place of fried chips or sourdough bread in place of the traditional white flour bread. Promoting the sustainable goal of ‘Good Health and Well-being’, a few of these bakeries have also made it their mission to help people with specific allergies and lifestyle disorders to be able to enjoy pastry and bakery products guilt-free. For example, several businesses like ‘A Diabetic Chef‘ have worked extensively to create sugar-free desserts that people with diabetes can enjoy. And some have come up with daily-free alternatives to deliver this sweet pleasure to lactose-intolerant consumers. A 100% Vegan bakery in Bangalore also serves as the perfect example as its menu offers all: vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free and even desserts for nut-allergic people. #foodindustry #foodbusiness #sustainability

Sustainability in the Baking Industry The increased emphasis of people on healthy living and eating habits has also influenced the baking industry, as many like Mo’s Bakery, Mason Chocolate, and Lluvia Bakery have shifted their focus to using organic produce sourced from local ‘green suppliers’. This shift aims to deliver relatively nutrition-rich products to the customers and lower the company’s carbon footprints. The belief here is that usage of organic ingredients will contribute to the human life quality improvement aspect of sustainability, at the same time as dealing with the environmental impact of long-distance transportation and shipping. It also empowers the local farmers and cooperatives as it supports their livelihoods. The industry has also turned towards segmenting the overall production process into sub-processes which means that certain bakeshops focus on producing the ingredients required that can then be supplied to other local bakeries. For example, many bakeshops have started to sell sauces, jams, buttercreams, chocolate chips, etc., to local patissiers, bakers, and confectioners. This supply chain helps reduce the chefs’ efforts to make the finished products and avoid the environmental impact of long-distance transportation of ingredients. #foodindustry #foodbusiness #sustainability

Sustainability in the baking industry: In answer to the most commonly understood meaning of sustainability (its environmental aspect), the baking industry has started advocating a No-Plastic policy, especially in the Production Kitchens. This practice means eliminating and substituting things like plastic piping bags, cling film wraps, plastic utensils and containers, etc., for more responsible production. In a world where typically just for one cake, you might end up using 2-to 3 of such plastic pastry bags, this step becomes monumental. The same can be said for the changes in the storage and packaging processes, as the industry opts out of single-use or non-recyclable materials for more eco-friendly articles. The challenge they face, however, is to switch to such a recyclable alternative that can enhance or support the bakery products’ shelf life. Some successful efforts towards this goal of Eco-Friendly Production and Distribution are by cloud bakery ‘Gobble Cake’, which ensures plastic-free baking and packaging, and by the organic and sustainable firm ‘The Huda Bar’, who take pride in their 100% recyclable or reusable packaging. #foodindustry #sustainability #foodbusiness

How Sustainable is the Baking Industry? Since the focus of the COVID-struck society shifted to the pleasures of food, the recent surge of home bakeries, cloud kitchens and cafes has brought about rapid advancements and increased awareness about the workings of the baking industry. With more and more people entering the industry, trying to find their niche, questions of what sustainability means for them also arise. There are so many interpretations floating around in the patisserie industry for the word ‘Sustainability': Sustainable spells out to some home bakers as vegan or gluten-free products; to others, it may define their no-plastic policies and establishment of green building outlets. For some prominent brands, the same term emphasises their eco-friendly processes and transparent branding. At the same time, a few take pride in ‘organically-sourced ingredients’ as their work towards being sustainable. #Sustainability #Baking #patisserie

Are there any End-of-life solutions available to textile waste in India? The unfortunate answer is currently, not really! The Circularity measures existing today help extend the life of a garment. However, textiles waste in the form of old rags, worn-out non-recyclable clothes and furnishings, used undergarments and activewear end up in landfills! Circularity measures mitigate climate change and encourage conscious, mindful lifestyles. Responsible production and consumption are sure the need of the hour. But alongside, the harsh truth is that we need to stop continuing the typical fast-fashion norms immediately if we want to make functional, long-lasting changes. However, is the industry willing to unlearn everything about fashion, textiles, and trends — and find new directions to create less instead of an extra ‘conscious’ collection? Because in the end, there is no point in talking about ‘saving the planet’ as an industry or using natural materials if we keep producing so-called conscious clothing in bulk, in the same old ways. #Circularity #India #Fashion

Thrifting and Second-hand consumerism in India: Thrifting as an eco-friendly solution has been gaining popularity and has almost become a buzzword in the sustainable fashion sector. Physical stores like: Good Karma in Goa, Bombay Closet Cleanse in Mumbai, and Instagram thrift stores like Susta Act have been tapping into the second-hand clothing space in India. Interesting start-ups are coming up in India, providing unique circular solutions for brands & retailers. For example, Relove is a circular-tech solution founded by Kirti Poonia and Prateek Gupte that integrates a reselling option on existing brands’ websites. Here, customers can sell their second-hand clothes directly from the brand’s website where they bought. Conscious Indian brands like The Summer House, Love the World Today, The Jodi Life, Suta, etc., are a few famous names that have added the ‘Relove’ option on their shopping websites to allow customers to resell their old clothes belonging to that particular brand. #thrifting #circularity #fashion

Upcycling issues in the Fashion Industry: There is an unfair comparison of upcycled fashion with mainstream fast fashion products: regarding aesthetics, price points, or seasonal timelines, to name a few. This comparison adds up to the challenge of doing things consciously, which can be almost against the norms of the fashion industry most of the time. Many brands and designers today are willing to stop doing 'business as usual' and put the planet and people on the same level as profits. Still, are we ready to look at these products from a different, unique lens and appreciate them for their individualistic nature? #upcycling #fashion #pollution #India

Issues with Upcycling and Circularity in the Fashion Industry: Small businesses in India are working on giving a second life to textile scraps collected from local shops and turning them into multiple products like bags, pouches, jewellery, and hair accessories by a time-consuming yet creative process of cleaning and sorting the scraps according to colour, texture, weight, etc., and finally stitching them. At Iro Iro, founder designer Bhaavya Goenka uses a technique of cutting fabric strips and using them as yarn to hand weave them into a fabric. The brand integrates waste management alongside preserving local craftsmanship. According to her, many conscious designers today have developed and adopted solutions to design and produce mindfully. ‘There are solutions to make upcycled products but not enough solutions to sell and market them’, says Bhaavya. She further shared that there is a need to educate customers and sell and market upcycled fashion with fresh perspectives. #upcycling #circularity #Fashion #India

Upcyling and Circularity in Fashion: Over the last few years, there have been quite a few fashion designers like: Karishma Shahani of Ka-sha Kriti Tula of Doodlage They have made a name for themselves in the sustainable designer wear sector by upcycling fashion and textile waste. Upcycling refers to repurposing and reusing discarded or old products and materials and creating new products of higher value. #circularity #India #upcycling #fashion