Is going zero-waste possible?
“I felt overwhelmed by India’s trash problem. I was confronted by it every day - seeing piles of garbage on the streets and I spent time with local waste pickers and watched them sort through waste with their bare hands. I started to think of the environmental, health and social justices issues associated with our garbage problem.”
Sahar Mansoor, WEGCA 2020 Eco Star of Asia Award Winner
Founder and CEO, Bare Necessities Zero Waste Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Sahar Mansoor is the Founder and CEO at Bare Necessities. True to her cause, Sahar has a 500 gms jar of the trash she produced in 4 years. India's trash problem prompted her to think of the associated environmental, health and social justice issues. Resolute to live a life fully congruent to her environmental and social justice values, she knew she needed to walk the talk and live a zero-waste lifestyle.
A University of Cambridge alumni, she formerly worked at the World Health Organization in Geneva and SELCO Foundation on renewable energy projects and is currently a Climate Reality Leader and a Global Shaper at the World Economic Forum. For her work in changing the narrative on waste in India, Sahar has been recognized by Google India as ‘The Most Inspiring Indian of the Year’.
Bare Necessities seeks to change the narrative on waste in India and beyond, by educating people through talks, workshops, online courses and consultancy services. They have addressed over 1,17,700 people in the past 4 years; sold over 47,600 zero waste products diverting 172,000 kg of plastic waste from landfills.
Using a people-centered and earth-centered approach, Bare Necessities addresses serious flaws in manufacturing, distribution, and consumption, by innovating and providing sustainable solutions to waste, and proposing problems that more companies need to address if they want to be innovative and socially-conscious. Bare Necessities produces everyday essential products that do not contribute to the waste epidemic.