How Edha Built EcoKaari’s Baseline Impact Story
The engagement at a glance
| Dimension | Detail |
| Client | EcoKaari — social enterprise upcycling plastic waste into handwoven products via Charkha & Handloom |
| Edha’s role | Impact measurement, baseline reporting, and B2C impact-messaging strategy |
| Key deliverables | Baseline Impact Report (2020–2024), Executive Summary, B2C Messaging Framework, Competitor Analysis |
| Approach | Dignity-first storytelling, certified-vs-estimate discipline, circular-economy framing |
| Outcome | A partner-ready impact narrative and a reusable in-house messaging playbook |
The challenge: strong impact, unstructured story
EcoKaari had already achieved what most early-stage social enterprises only aspire to. Since 2020 it had diverted more than 130 lakh (13 million) plastic units from landfills, trained and supported over 317 artisans — more than 90% of them women — and grown revenue sixteen-fold to reach profitability. Its products were being bought by KPMG, Tata, Nestlé, ITC, Dell and more than forty other corporate partners.
What it did not yet have was a single, credible, structured account of that impact — one that could stand up in front of a CSR committee, an investor, or a grant body. Numbers lived across decks and memories. Some figures were certified; others were internal estimates, and the two were easy to conflate. And the artisan story, EcoKaari’s beating heart, risked being told in the pity-based register that so much social-impact marketing defaults to.
WHAT EcoKaari NEEDED
- A rigorous baseline of environmental, social, and financial impact across four financial years.
- Clear separation of independently certified figures from internal estimates.
- A dignity-first way to represent its women artisans as skilled makers at the centre of the enterprise.
- A repeatable messaging playbook the in-house team could run without external help.
Edha’s approach
Edha treated EcoKaari’s data with the same discipline it applies to corporate GHG and ESG assurance work — but translated the output into language a buyer, not just an auditor, could feel.
- A verified environmental baseline: Edha reconstructed EcoKaari’s environmental impact from FY 2020-21 to FY 2023-24, deliberately distinguishing what is independently certified from what is a reasonable internal estimate. EcoKaari’s life-cycle assessment for FY 2022-23 — conducted by GreenR and certified through J-PAL — established 125 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions avoided in that year, at 8.3 kg CO₂-eq per product, benchmarking EcoKaari’s 330 GSM upcycled fabric against 240 GSM nylon under the GHG Protocol with India-specific emission factors.
Every carbon claim in the report carries its provenance. The certified figure (125 tonnes, FY 2022-23) and the cumulative internal estimate (1,400+ tonnes) are never presented interchangeably — a small discipline that protects EcoKaari’s credibility with technical audiences.
The report also reframed EcoKaari's waste handling honestly. Rather than an unverifiable "zero waste" claim, Edha introduced a Responsible Waste Management framing: production offcuts and residual plastic are channelled to waste management partners that responsibly process them, minimising landfill impact at every stage of production. The report is also precise about materials — EcoKaari processes both LD (low-density) plastic bags and MLP (multi-layered plastic) such as chip wrappers and laminated packaging.
- A dignity-first social story: Edha’s editorial approach kept the focus on the craft – EcoKaari’s artisans are skilled women who have built an independent livelihood through traditional weaving. The production model supports this. The unit sits within three to four kilometres of where most artisans live, making skilled, flexible work compatible with family and community life. Each artisan earns roughly ₹4,000 a month in additional income, on her own terms.
To rescue plastic from landfills and oceans and weave it into products people are proud to carry — handwoven into something beautiful by women whose hands have turned waste into wonder.
- A messaging framework the team could own: Alongside the report, Edha delivered a B2C Impact Messaging Framework — a practical, team-use playbook built around EcoKaari’s brand core and four message pillars: Craft, Planet, People, and Product. It reframes pricing around value rather than apology, maps buyer personas, and gives platform-by-platform guidance and a tone guide, so EcoKaari’s own team can communicate impact consistently long after the engagement ends. A supplementary competitor messaging analysis mapped where EcoKaari can adapt best practice and where it holds a distinct advantage.
The numbers behind the story
Year-on-year impact, FY 2020-21 to FY 2023-24. Carbon figures marked with an asterisk are internal estimates; the independently certified figure is 125 tonnes CO₂-eq for FY 2022-23.
| Financial year | Plastic upcycled | Livelihoods | Carbon (tonnes) |
| 2020–21 | 2.3 Lakh | 15 | 110* |
| 2021–22 | 16.3 Lakh | 25 | 779* |
| 2022–23 | 51 Lakh | 75 | 2,400* |
| 2023–24 | 60 Lakh | 100 | 2,800* |
| Cumulative | 130+ Lakh | 215+ | Est. — certified 125 (FY22-23) |
Livelihoods reflect core operations (215+). A wider figure of 317+ includes artisans supported through CSR partnerships with the JSW Foundation, WWF India, and Bajaj Electricals.
FINANCIAL TRACTION
| Financial year | Revenue (₹ Lakhs) | Profit / (Loss) |
| 2020–21 | 11.50 | (5.58) |
| 2021–22 | 50.62 | 1.00 |
| 2022–23 | 164.50 | 15.96 |
| 2023–24 | 184.00 | 10.80 |
Revenue grew sixteen-fold from inception, and EcoKaari has been profitable since FY 2021-22 — evidence that circular, dignity-led production is commercially durable, not merely worthy.
What Edha delivered
| Deliverable | Purpose |
| Baseline Impact Report 2020–2024 | A 20-page verified account of environmental, social, and financial impact for CSR partners, investors, and grant bodies |
| Executive Summary | A one-page standalone summary for time-poor senior audiences |
| B2C Impact Messaging Framework | A team-use playbook: brand core, four pillars, personas, pricing reframe, and platform guidance |
| Competitor Messaging Analysis | Positioning intelligence versus comparable sustainable-fashion brands |
The outcome
- A partner-ready impact narrative. EcoKaari now has a single credible document that speaks the language of CSR and investment audiences, with every claim traceable to its source.
- A reusable in-house capability. The messaging framework lets EcoKaari’s own team communicate impact consistently — the deliverable keeps working after the engagement closes.
- An ethical benchmark. Dignity-first storytelling and certified-vs-estimate discipline set a standard for how impact should be claimed, not just achieved.
In the client’s words
“The reports beautifully capture EcoKaari’s journey, impact, and vision, and I’m confident they will be invaluable in our conversations with partners, CSR stakeholders, and investors. It has been a pleasure working with Edha throughout this process.”
— Shivalika, Sales & Communication, EcoKaari
Why this matters for the wider sector
Impact-led enterprises are too often forced to choose between rigour and warmth — between the auditor’s caveats and the marketer’s story. The EcoKaari engagement shows the two are not in tension. Verified numbers make a story more powerful, not less; and treating people as skilled professionals is both the ethical choice and the more compelling one. That is the discipline Edha brings to every impact mandate: measure honestly, then communicate with conviction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Edha led impact measurement and communication — reconstructing a verified baseline impact report across four financial years, producing an executive summary, and building a B2C impact-messaging framework and competitor analysis for EcoKaari’s team.
The independently certified figure is 125 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent avoided in FY 2022-23 (GreenR LCA, J-PAL certified), at 8.3 kg CO₂-eq per product. A cumulative internal estimate of 1,400+ tonnes is reported separately and clearly flagged as an estimate.
Production offcuts and residual plastic are channelled to waste management partners that responsibly process them — a responsible waste-management approach that minimises landfill impact at every stage of production.
EcoKaari’s 317+ artisans, over 90% of them women, are represented as skilled makers building independent livelihoods through traditional craft. That accurate, dignity-first framing runs throughout the report.
Join the conversation
How is your organisation proving its impact — and does the story you tell match the numbers you can stand behind? We would love to hear how you are balancing rigour and warmth in your own impact communication. Share this case study, or tell us where you have seen impact told well.
Edha Sustainability Solutions is a practitioner-led consultancy working across impact measurement, ESG and BRSR disclosure, GHG baselining, and impact communication. If you are building a circular or impact-led enterprise and want a partner who measures honestly and communicates with conviction, write to us at contact@edhasustainability.com.
Sources & notes:
- Impact, financial, and certification data: EcoKaari Baseline Impact Report 2020–2024 (prepared by Edha Sustainability Solutions LLP).
- Certified carbon figure: GreenR life-cycle assessment, FY 2022-23, certified through J-PAL.
