PROJECT 1
Scaling a Sustainability Startup
BUSINESS DESIGN / SERVICE DESIGN
CLIENT: MuddleArt, New Delhi
ROLE: Strategy and Service Advisor
OBJECTIVE:
To design a robust, scalable, and sustainable business model for MuddleArt to formalize textile waste recycling. The aim was to address labor exploitation, improve transparency for global brands, and mitigate environmental degradation by optimizing the value chain.
Challenges to be Addressed
India’s textile recycling industry is deeply entrenched in informality, facing systemic challenges:
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Labor Exploitation: Women in informal sorting facilities work in unsafe, unhygienic conditions for meager pay.
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Environmental Impact: Unsorted waste often clogs slums and drains, creating health and ecological hazards.
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Transparency Gap: Brands struggle to track and report the journey of their waste.
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Regulatory Ambiguity: Weak enforcement of waste management regulations enables malpractice.
MuddleArt aimed to disrupt this system by offering a formalized, ethical alternative. The task was to scale operations, secure stakeholder trust, and deliver measurable sustainability outcomes.
Women sorting waste on the street.
Trader market in Sanjay Colony, Delhi.
Slums clogged with textile waste.
Approach &
Methodology
As an advisor, I have worked on several projects with MuddleArt, using a diverse set of skills to tackle various challenges:
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USER RESEARCH
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Conducted ethnographic studies to observe informal sorting hubs and understand workers’ challenges.
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Partnered with IDH – The Sustainable Trade Initiative to conduct in-depth interviews with informal traders, brands, and recyclers.
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Gathered data from manufacturers to quantify the volume and type of waste generated and evaluate the scale of the problem.
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Analyzed feedback loops to identify gaps in the existing informal systems, focusing on waste accountability and reporting needs.
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SERVICE DESIGN
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Designed service blueprints to formalize operations across three new locations, detailing processes from waste collection to sorting and sales to recyclers.
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Created customer journey maps for brands and manufacturers to align their needs with MuddleArt’s service offerings.
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Applied systems thinking to model the entire recycling value chain, identifying key leverage points for optimization.
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Prototyped a new operational setup for manufacturing recycled fibers, which is in the pilot phase.
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BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION
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Collaborated with Yale School of Management and Yale School of the Environment to co-create a service-based business model incorporating digital solutions for tracking and reporting sustainability outcomes.
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Partnered with Newtral, a carbon accounting startup, to design a digital platform for automating sustainability reporting for brands.
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Designed Theory of Change for MuddleArt to frame its near and long-term goals.
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Innovated on funding strategies, writing proposals that secured public and private grants to scale MuddleArt’s impact.
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Workshop with informal traders, New Delhi.
Captured issues of the traders.
Value Prop. & Business Model
MuddleArt's Eco-circular Model.
Solutions &
Recommendations
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Refined Customer Value Propositions:
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Delivered “Waste to Worth” solutions by ensuring that waste is upcycled or recycled ethically.
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Built trust with brands by providing comprehensive reports that offer visibility into waste handling, promoting transparency and compliance.
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Service Design-Led Operations:
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Formalized and streamlined the waste sorting process, prioritizing safety and dignity for workers, primarily women.
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Introduced scalable, modular operational designs to enable expansion into new markets.
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Technology-Driven Reporting:
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Initiated the development of a platform for sustainability reporting, enabling brands to track metrics like waste diverted from landfills, labor conditions, and carbon footprint reduction.
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Conducting service prototyping as a part of the pilot program with H&M Foundation.
Women sorting waste at MuddleArt's facilities in Faridabad.
Implementation
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Stakeholder Engagement: Established strong partnerships with brands (H&M Foundation, Shahi Exports), informal sector representatives, and global organizations (IDH).
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Scaling Operations: Expanded to three new locations with tailored operational models, ensuring consistent quality and ethical standards.
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Pilot Programs:
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Designed a pilot with H&M Foundation and Shahi Exports, funded and scaled into MuddleArt’s standard operating model.
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Integrated new digital tools in collaboration with Newtral to test efficiency and reliability.
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Tools and Processes:
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Utilized Lean and Agile methodologies to prototype, test, and refine operations and digital solutions.
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The MuddleArt team part of the fully-scaled operations post-pilot at Faridabad.
Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Textiles tours facility.
Impact &
Outcomes
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Operational Growth:
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Increased waste processing capacity by scaling operations to three new locations. Monthly handling capacity increased by over 400%.
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Created dignified livelihoods for 150+ women, ensuring safe working conditions and fair pay.
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Environmental Outcomes:
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Diverted over 7,000 metric tons of textile waste from landfills, reducing environmental pollution.
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Reduced health hazards in urban slums by eliminating unsorted waste dumps.
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Economic Impact:
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Helped MuddleArt achieve a valuation of INR 10 crore, securing seed funding from Social Alpha.
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Enabled smaller traders and recyclers to access high-quality sorted materials, strengthening the recycling ecosystem.
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Recognition & Grants:
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Secured offfer for incubation at IIT Kanpur to be a part of their sustainable enterprises portfolio.
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Secured public funding from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and IIIT Hyderabad.
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Received recognition from Acumen as an enterprise of the future.
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