Kanika Ahuja is a social entrepreneur, sustainability advocate, and thought leader in circular economy innovation. As co-leader of Conserve India and founder of Lifaffa, she has transformed waste into opportunity through upcycled fashion, fair trade practices, and women-led social enterprises. Her work bridges design, dignity, and environmental responsibility, proving that circular design is not just an ecological necessity but also a tool for social impact. Featured in global forums including TEDx, Kanika champions sustainable innovations that empower artisans, advance ethical supply chains, and reimagine waste as a resource. She is shaping India’s role in the global sustainability movement.

The Social Digest: Your journey blends sustainability, innovation, and social impact so seamlessly. What first sparked your passion for creating change through fair trade and circular economy models?

I think it started at home – My parents founded Conserve India as a fair trade NGO, and growing up, I witnessed firsthand how design and dignified work could change lives. When I returned to the organization after my MBA, I saw immense potential in using waste as a resource—not just to reduce environmental impact, but to create livelihoods. That’s where circular economy principles came in. It wasn’t about charity, it was about systems change. Fair trade gave us the ethical lens, and circular design gave us the innovation lens—and together, they became the backbone of what I do.

The Social Digest: How has your background or education shaped your approach to social entrepreneurship and sustainability?

Engineering taught me to solve problems logically, while business school helped me think about scale and sustainability—not just ecological, but economic and organizational. But honestly, it was returning to the field, working with women artisans and waste pickers, that grounded everything. My education gave me tools, but my work with Conserve and Lifaffa gave me purpose. I try to balance idealism with practicality, and I think that’s something my academic and grassroots experiences have taught me.

The Social Digest: Can you walk us through your process of preparing and delivering the TEDx talk on ‘Sustainable Innovations’? What were your main goals?

TEDx was a moment of reflection for me. I wanted to communicate that innovation doesn’t have to be shiny or tech-heavy—it can be low-tech, community-led, and rooted in values. Preparing the talk meant distilling years of work into a 10-minute story that resonated emotionally. I used real stories—of waste pickers becoming entrepreneurs, of plastic transformed into handbags—to make the case for human-centered design in sustainability. My goal was to spark hope and action—to show that each of us can be part of the solution.

The Social Digest: Can you share a success story where fair trade initiatives significantly improved artisans’ lives?

Absolutely. One of our artisans, Rukhsana, began working with us after her husband passed away. She had no prior work experience, but through Conserve India’s training, she not only learned how to transform plastic into fabric but also became a mentor to other women. Today, she runs a small stitching unit from her home and sends her daughter to college. It’s stories like hers that remind me why dignified, fairly-paid work is more than a livelihood—it’s empowerment, especially for women.

The Social Digest: Plastikul is a brilliant example of turning waste into opportunity. How was the idea born, and what challenges did you face building a brand around upcycled plastic in India?

The idea came from a simple need for exchange and sharing of knowledge between entrepreneurs, innovators and practitioners from different countries. We joined hands to become a consortium of partners with free flow of knowledge in recycling plastics across 6 different countries. The biggest challenge was perception—people were wary of “trash” being turned into products. But when they saw the quality and design of the final pieces, the stigma began to fade. We turned waste into pride—that’s what Plastikul became.

The Social Digest: Favorite book, podcast, or thought leader in sustainability or social impact?

I love the book Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough—it’s a blueprint for rethinking how we make everything. In terms of podcasts, Outrage + Optimism always gives me hope and perspective. And I deeply admire Vandana Shiva—her work around ecological justice and indigenous knowledge systems is incredibly powerful.

The Social Digest: Can you walk us through the process behind LIFAFFA — from sourcing waste materials to turning them into stylish, sustainable fashion pieces? What goes on behind the scenes?

It all starts with waste collection—mostly plastic bags and multilayer packaging—sourced from local waste pickers. The material is cleaned, sorted by color, and then fused using a handmade heat press to create sheets of “Handmade Recycled Plastic,” our upcycled textile. These sheets are then cut and stitched by our women artisans into bags, wallets, and more. Each piece is designed to be zero-waste, down to the smallest scrap. Behind the scenes, it’s a mix of craft, science, and community—and a lot of heart.

The Social Digest: Do you have a project or upcoming initiative that excites you—can you share a sneak peek?

Yes! We’re working on launching a Circular Design & Craft Hub that focuses on bridging India’s artisan traditions with contemporary circularity practices. Our goal is to support craft communities—especially women artisans—in using not just upcycled plastic, but also textile waste – industrial and post-consumer – to create modern, market-ready collections.

India’s artisan sector has always been inherently low-carbon, resource-efficient, and rooted in local materials, yet it’s often left out of the global sustainability narrative. This initiative aims to change that—by building design capacity, market access, and systems for waste-to-craft innovation. We’re hoping to pilot this in partnership with rural craft clusters and showcase the model as a blueprint for circular livelihoods.

Where would you like to see India—and perhaps the world—in terms of sustainable innovation by 2030?

By 2030, I’d love to see India emerge not just as a participant but a global leader in circular innovation and supply chains—and I believe our artisan sector is key to that.

Traditional Indian crafts are some of the most sustainable production systems in the world—they rely on hand skills, natural resources, and minimal energy use. Yet despite this, our artisans are often excluded from the formal sustainability discourse. We need to invest in circular design education, green technologies, and dignified value chains so artisans can move from survival to leadership in the circular economy.

India has the potential to lead a new kind of revolution—one that’s handmade, regenerative, and deeply local. But we need to bring our artisans to the center of that vision—not just as heritage custodians, but as future-forward climate innovators. Join Conserve India in this mission!

The Social Digest: One sustainability tip everyone can adopt immediately?

Start with your waste. What you throw “away” doesn’t go away—it just moves out of sight. Segregate, upcycle, reuse. Even better, support brands and artisans who are already turning waste into value. Small choices compound—and they shape the world we live in.

This interview was conducted by Angel Ahuja  for The Social Digest . If you have any interview recommendations or have a story that you want to share with our readers, get in touch with our editor Vedant Bhrambhatt, at editor@thesocialdigest.com