Ayesha Chundrigar, the founder of the Karachi-based animal rescue and welfare organization — the Ayesha Chundrigar Foundation (ACF) — has partnered with her sister, Sonia, to launch a new, “differently holistic business model” and produce eco-friendly dog leashes and toys made from the ocean’s plastic waste.
The company, Trio, which claims to produce “sustainable and ethical goods, for good”, introduced its first products last week – three types of customizable dog leashes and two types of durable toys that are “all made of 85% waste material” and 0.25 kg of used fish net in each product.
Chundrigar specified on her Instagram account that “60 percent is purely used fishnets rescued from the oceans that kill marine life”.
Products
- The Arête Leash for big dogs
- The Ki Leash – thin and light for small dogs
- The Ahimsa Leash – light and easy for training and walking
- The Caia Toy
- The Kefi Toy
The sisters reportedly collaborated to create “sustainable and ethical handmade” products for their first-ever business that is envisioned to be “socially conscious” while helping the environment and people, in addition to raising funds for the ACF.
Chundrigar explained on her Instagram account that “by purchasing just one leash or toy, you will be cleaning the oceans, helping fishermen, empowering women who are the breadwinners of the family, and helping more abused and injured street and labor animals. So MANY causes in just ONE product!”
Detailing the overall benefits of the initiative, she revealed that it helps causes such as “cleaning the oceans of plastic waste, making a useful product out of it, incentivizing the fishing villages, empowering women artisans who have endured unimaginable trauma and are sole breadwinners of their families, uplifting the cottage industry”.
Elaborating the community involvement aspect of the business, the ACF founder continued, “We have already empowered 25 women, teaching them the craft of weaving the products that they’ve perfected beyond belief, all the while training them as entrepreneurs for effective scalability. So the more you purchase, the more women we help”.
She also mentioned on Instagram that the products are simultaneously being launched in Pakistan and the US.
