When COVID-19 struck the rustic, a lot of families, together with the Sharma circle of relatives in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, grew to become to air fresheners and sanitisers. Positioned of their lounge, the automated air freshener successfully masked odours, however the circle of relatives remained ignorant of what else it could be emitting.
A document in ScienceDirect states that air fresheners emit over 100 other chemical compounds, together with risky natural compounds. It provides that air freshener exposures, even on the lowest stage, may cause many adversarial well being results — together with migraine complications, bronchial asthma assaults, respiring difficulties, respiration difficulties, mucosal signs, dermatitis, toddler diarrhoea and earache, and neurological issues.
In 2022, Rajiv Kumar Sharma fell severely sick, experiencing critical vomiting, nausea, and complications, which resulted in a two-day hospitalisation. Following his discharge, he meticulously investigated the reasons of his surprising sickness. Rajiv attributed his well being deterioration to the air fresheners not too long ago presented in his house.
An innovator with a background in carpentry, Rajiv resolved to craft his personal air freshener the use of wooden and gear to be had at house. Accumulating flower waste from a close-by temple, he ingeniously created a herbal perfume for his selfmade air freshener.
When his school professors on the Nationwide Institute of Design, Andhra Pradesh, heard of his innovation, they made up our minds to lend a hand him easiest the product and make it able for a bigger target market. After 8 months and 20 prototypes, the ALVE air fresheners have been born.
The USP of ALVE, in step with the founder, is that it’s fabricated from herbal substances, has a sustainable design (can also be composted post-use), and contains sensible era.
Rajiv recently runs his startup from his kitchen along with his mom, Sonidevi. In combination, they’ve offered over 850 air fresheners previously 5 months, incomes over Rs 2 lakh.
A sanatorium consult with that sowed the seeds of entrepreneurship
Since his more youthful years, Rajiv has been developing more than a few merchandise. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, he built a comfy PPE equipment appropriate for prolonged put on. As a member of the Jharkhand Animal Welfare Society, he additionally evolved over 50 wheelchairs for injured or paralysed canines.
“My circle of relatives practised carpentry until a couple of years in the past, and I’m adept at gear and electric design because of my path too,” he tells The Higher India.
When he discovered the damaging results of air fresheners and couldn’t in finding anything else really eco-friendly, his interest for introduction driven him to construct one the use of herbal substances.
“There are lots of toxic chemical compounds in air fresheners. All you want to do is learn the factor listing in the back of any air freshener. It’s no longer secure for kids (discussed within the packaging) and animals to inhale. I sought after to make a freshener which was once secure for the surroundings in addition to people and animals,” he provides.
First of all, Rajiv interested in developing herbal fragrances the use of flower waste. He accrued jasmine and roses from a close-by temple, air-dried the petals, flooring them into powder the use of a mixer, and blended them with coconut husk waste. After permitting the combination to air dry for a couple of days, the perfume was once ready. Rajiv then positioned this perfume into a pitcher bottle and crafted an outer duvet the use of wooden, leading to his selfmade, eco-friendly perfume.
Even though it should appear simple, developing the overall product concerned a lot of trials and mixtures for Rajiv. With enhance from his mom, who’s the co-founder of ALVE Inexperienced Answers, he labored diligently for over 8 months. It took greater than 20 prototypes prior to reaching the best outcome, he informs.
“When my professors noticed this, they have been amazed. They stated that this must be given to a larger target market and is the desire of the hour. They helped me easiest it with the assistance of machines within the school,” provides Rajiv.
A wise, zero-plastic air freshener
The air freshener is to be had in 3 variants for houses, workplaces, and vehicles, providing a number of 15 fragrances. Each and every unit is provided with sensible sensors that mechanically turn on and deactivate according to the detection of a person’s presence. Moreover, it’s appropriate with Google Assistant.
The air freshener includes a biodegradable frame that may be composted after use, and its refills are natural — crafted from temple flower waste.
“We use nature’s intelligence in protecting the fragrances. Chemical fresheners use LPG to retain the perfume. We use herbal substances for that and not using a chemical compounds. We don’t use any warmth, water vapour or chemical compounds to diffuse our fragrances. We use our personal Air Diffusion Era with sensors to diffuse aroma calmly within the setting,” says the fashion designer.
Rajiv has partnered with greater than 30 temples in Jamshedpur to acquire floral waste. On a daily basis, he collects no less than 3 kg of floral waste from every temple. So far, he has recycled 1,500 kg of temple waste.
Every other noteworthy facet is this freshener is secure for animals additionally. Running within the Jharkhand Animal Welfare Society since 2018, Rajiv was once stunned by means of the consequences of human behaviour on animals.
“We used to rescue cows and bulls. Once they have been operated upon, veterinarians discovered plastic of their stomachs, which they weren’t ready to digest. I’ve been towards plastic use since that day. Our fresheners too don’t have any plastic in them. Simply put our tool on your lawn after use and it’ll get composted,” he stocks.
Operating the startup from his house recently, Rajiv hopes to amplify quickly. ALVE Inexperienced Answers has collaborated with the Indian Institute of Control Bangalore, the place 5 school scholars shall be operating with the startup to increase the product. The air fresheners are recently being offered offline, at occasions, and thru their web page.
“ALVE is derived from the phrase Alveoli — a tiny sac-like construction found in our lungs — which is answerable for the alternate of carbon dioxide and oxygen. With out this organ, the frame fails to live on, thus making it a maximum vital a part of our frame,” explains Rajiv.
In a similar way, he explains that he desires ALVE to be a very powerful a part of every house for more healthy residing. “I wish to create merchandise that no longer most effective meet human wishes but additionally depart a good imprint on our planet. Our imaginative and prescient at ALVE is to encourage an international the place recent, blank air isn’t a luxurious however a sustainable same old,” he stocks.
Edited by means of Pranita Bhat