1. Describe the product you have chosen.
Ans: Phool is an incense sticks company in India (where incense sticks are a daily need for prayers). The company collects 8.4 tons of floral waste used for prayers from temples (i.e., temple-waste) on a daily basis to make handcrafted charcoal-free incense sticks which are again used for the purpose of prayers.
2. Why do you consider it circular?
Ans: Phool uses floral waste that would otherwise end up in rivers (because floral waste is considered sacred to be discarded in the garbage) and recycle them into incense sticks which are again considered sacred and will be used for the same purpose of prayers while drastically reducing its environmental impact on the rivers.
3. Which principles of CE models are being used?
Ans: Phool uses the sustainable product design principle in terms of materials by designing out waste/pollution, also excludes toxic and persistent material like pesticides from the flowers, and also has an easy separation method.
4. What are the economic and environmental benefits?
Ans: Environmental benefit is that 11,060 tons of flowers are prevented from ending up in rivers and also this, in turn, offsets 11 tons of pesticides. The economic benefit is that the cost of raw material for the product is effectively null and also provides employment for local-women workers.
5. Which one of the “5 business-models” does it belong to?
Ans: It belongs to the waste to wealth (upcycling) business model.
6. Please add a link to the company’s site.
Ans: https://phool.co/