It all started back in 2015 when Sahar Mansoor was engaged with the SELCO Foundation, a solar energy social venture that develops affordable energy solutions. One community that she was working with was a group of waste pickers from West Bengal. She observed them for some time, and the social justice concerns around these rag pickers shocked her. Watching them segregate broken glass, sanitary napkins and needles all with their bare hands, made her understand the environmental and the social justice issues associated with our waste problem. She felt overwhelmed with India’s trash problem and was confronted by it for becoming a entrepreneur every day seeing piles of garbage on the streets.
“I wanted to stop being part of the problem. I had to address my own trash problem first. I needed to live a life more congruent to my environmental and social justice values. I needed to walk the talk,” says Sahar.
In 2015, she as an entrepreneur began living a waste-free lifestyle in response to this issue and sought to establish a business that upheld the principles of sustainability, ethical consumption, and zero waste. She wanted to make it easy and accessible for other people looking to consume more mindfully and thus, Bare Necessities was born.
Bare Necessities designs and creates high quality, earth-friendly everyday necessities or products that are packaged in recyclable, reusable or compostable materials. The company also instructs individuals about the trash dilemma through speeches, workshops, and online courses to help people learn how to live a more sustainable life, from children to adults.
Sahar says, “At Bare Necessities, it’s not just about selling products. It’s about encouraging an earth friendly lifestyle. I helped create online sustainability courses and wrote a book ‘ Bare Necessities – how to live a zero-waste life’ published by Penguin Random House, to help encourage others to reduce their waste footprint.”
Small solutions for a bigger problem
Bare Necessities creates necessities for daily life without adding to the trash crisis. Every one of the items comes in packaging that is recyclable, reusable, and biodegradable.
By developing and offering sustainable solutions to waste, Bare Necessities addresses significant weaknesses in manufacturing, distribution, and consumption. It also identifies issues that more businesses need to resolve if they want to be innovative and socially conscientious.
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