RAW Materials
Rice straw based fashion, building material & cars
RAW Materials aims to create a family of circular materials by valorizing rice stubble waste. Every October, Indian farmers burn over 75M tons of straw in an attempt to clear & prepare their fields for the next crop sowing season, usually 2 weeks after. This practice severely harms India’s air quality, health, agricultural yield and costs the economy over $30B. Starting with biodegradable alternantives to disposable footwear in hospitality, we aspire to make the global fashion industry circular. We've also been awarded for our R&D in moulded car parts, heat insulation & hard board material.
Company/Institution
Royal College of Art & Imperial College London
RAW (Renewable Agricultural Waste) Materials by Ankita Khanna & yohaan Kukreja is a thesis project turned early venture that is advancing technologies to valorize rice paddy straw in India. Beginning with disposable footwear in hospitality, they plan on expanding into the automotive and construction sectors too. By turning agricultural waste into valuable resources, the company provides both environmental and economic benefits in an attempt to arrest crop burning in nothern India while stimulating a global circular economy
Country
United Kingdom
Designer(s)
Ankita Khanna & Yohaan Kukreja
Ankita Khanna (MA Design Products, Royal College of Art) and Yohaan Kukreja (MA/MSc Innovation Design Engineeering, Royal College of Art & Imperial College London) began their journey at university, where they united their expertise to tackle pressing global and domestic (India) challenges. What started as a thesis project has now grown into RAWMaterials—a joint mission to end crop burning and drive the global shift to a circular economy across multiple industries.