From pharma waste to designer furniture: How this Delhi startup is giving discarded materials a new life

Tablet packaging, plastic wraps and other industrial waste aren't ending up in landfills anymore. Instead, they're being turned into furniture and home décor by Delhi-based design studio Daera, which has collaborated with sustainable brand Cancelled Plans to repurpose 500 kg of waste into everyday products, according to a report by The Better India.

The collection, Daera X Cancelled Plans, uses discarded pharmaceutical packaging, plastic wraps, shredded tablet waste, textile scraps and billboard printing leftovers to create furniture and décor with minimalist designs. It brings together Daera founders Jannat Gill and Sharon Sethi with architect Mallika Reddy, whose venture Cancelled Plans has been developing fabrics from waste since 2018.

A wedding started it all

The idea behind Daera dates back to 2015, when Sharon, then working in California, travelled to India for Jannat's wedding after quitting her job. The two initially explored starting a fashion venture together.

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As Sharon recalls, "We were tinkering with the idea of starting a venture of sorts in the fashion space. While we did come up with the idea for a jewellery line partnering with the artisans of Rajasthan, it wasn't until 2017 that we got our big break."

That opportunity came after Jannat redesigned her home and it was featured in an interior magazine, leading to a steady stream of home décor enquiries.

Encouraged by the response, Sharon says, "I made a trip to India, thinking that if this worked out, I would make the move a permanent one."

One successful project led to another, and the duo launched Daera in 2018. The studio, whose name translates to "establishments" in Punjabi, now designs both interiors and furniture.

Another wedding inspired a new collection

The idea for Daera X Cancelled Plans emerged in 2019, when Jannat, Sharon and architect Mallika Reddy met during a wedding in Thailand and realised they shared similar ideas about sustainability.

Explaining the philosophy behind her venture, Mallika says, "Cancelled Plans is driven by a love for rejects and a passion for using the unused."

Recalling how the collaboration came together, she adds, "This was when we came up with the idea for the collection. While Jannat and Sharon would be in charge of the colours and silhouettes, I would take care of the textures and patterns."

Mallika says her previous job in the pharmaceutical industry inspired her to work with industrial waste.

"Following an MBA, I was working with a pharmaceutical," she says. "During this time I became aware of the amounts of waste generated in this industry and later, when I founded Cancelled Plans, I revisited this thought, ensuring that waste always found a way into my designs."

According to the trio, sustainability was always at the heart of the collection.

"We wanted our designs to reflect the future, and this was our guiding principle all the way," Mallika says, adding, "We intended to create furniture of tomorrow."

Giving waste a second life

The collection uses non-hazardous waste sourced from industrial areas in and around Delhi and Hyderabad, including discarded tablet packaging, plastic wraps, shredded pharmaceutical waste, empty containers, textile scraps and leftover billboard material.

Explaining the sourcing process, Mallika says, "Having lived in Hyderabad, I am familiar with the manufacturing industries here. In fact, I started sourcing waste from the same pharmaceutical company where I worked. We collect the non-hazardous waste from these companies."

She adds, "We have prevented 500 kg of waste from entering into landfills by repurposing it for our products."

The waste is converted into fabric, which is then used as upholstery for the furniture. The team works with artisans in Hyderabad, including traditional embroiderers from the Charminar area, handloom weavers and textile workers in Pochampally.

Minimalist designs inspired by Bauhaus

While Mallika develops the fabrics, Jannat and Sharon focus on the furniture designs and the story behind each piece.

As Jannat puts it, "And more importantly, what the story behind them is going to be."

She says the collection draws inspiration from the Bauhaus movement. "We wanted to keep the pieces in the collection minimalistic and derived inspiration from the Bauhaus era — a modern art that was started in Germany in the 20th century and focuses on abstract forms with a focus on function."

She adds, "The products exhibit a silhouette-like fine, linear, subtle and minimal appearance for the fabric to take heed to create a distinct collection. The collection helps drive a circular economy by crafting rejected materials into everyday usable products with a tinge of style."

The final collection includes lounge chairs, warp chairs, shuttle benches, chandeliers, pod lights and oracle mirrors, and is available across India.