Enviu is a venture-building studio that, in collaboration with partners, is running a Circular Textile Waste Management model. This model diverts textile waste from landfills while creating new income and employment opportunities for waste pickers and their families. The current focus is to build ventures addressing post-consumer textile waste, and through initiatives like reTex and the Denim Pilot (Re-Mined), Enviu is working to reclaim discarded textiles and turn them into valuable resources.
At Enviu, the team is committed to creating ventures based on the principles of a circular economy that benefits both people and the planet. The focus within the Saamuhika Shakti initiative is to empower waste pickers by offering green jobs and additional income opportunities through ventures designed to address the textile waste problem in India.
As a part of Saamuhika Shakti, the ventures are dedicated to creating sustainable circular solutions within the textile waste industry, with a focus on enhancing the livelihoods of informal waste pickers, particularly women and youth. The aim is to transform textile waste into valuable resources while increasing income avenues for waste entrepreneurs, offering dignified job opportunities for waste pickers and their families.
The goal is not just to divert waste from landfills but also empower waste pickers to transition into alternate professions with prospects for upward mobility, thereby contributing to economic stability.
The current ventures are reTex and Re-Mined, which address the post-consumer textile waste streams.
reTex, a venture by Enviu, provides a circular solution for textiles in the hospitality sector. The venture initiated Enviu’s journey with a pilot linen rental service for hotels, aiming to extend the lifecycle of textiles and efficiently manage end-of-life waste. Through this service, discarded linens from hotels were collected, recycled and upcycled into premium products such as paper, yarn, fabrics and home textiles. This prevents textile waste from ending up in landfills and creates valuable job opportunities for waste entrepreneurs and waste pickers in Bangalore: 📖 How RE-sponsible Management and Sustainable Practices Can Extend the Lifespan of Lines.
Re-Mined is an upcoming venture by Enviu that aims to craft value-added products from denim waste that ends up in landfills or is incinerated. The mission is to divert 1,000 metric tonnes of denim waste from downcycling, incineration and landfills by the year 2028. The team is currently validating various aspects of the business model such as take-back programmes with brands, recycling feedstock to make blended yarns and fabrics among others.
