Circularity may sound like a modern business term, but in India it has been a way of life for generations. It was never a strategy or trend. It was simply how families lived long before climate change entered public conversation.
Plaeto’s Co-founder and CEO, Ravi Kallayil, grew up seeing this mindset at home. His mother has eaten from the same steel plate for 60 years. Its shine comes from decades of care. It has travelled with her through different homes and phases of life, and she still uses it with pride. When someone suggests replacing it, her response is simple: “if the plate works, why buy a new one?”
This simple logic captures an entire cultural worldview.
Another memory of Ravi’s from his years as a student in the United States: He found an old IKEA wall clock in a trash bin. It was dusty and missing its battery cover, but it worked. He hung it in his kitchen, and it has kept time for 15 years. The clock reminds him that new is not automatically better. Useful matters more than shiny or recent.
He often reflects that none of this makes him unique. In fact, it makes him very typical of an Indian raised in a middle class home. The instinct to reuse, repair, and stretch the life of objects is deeply ingrained in our culture.
Why is that?
This behaviour has roots in India’s spiritual and cultural ideas. The concept of samsara teaches that life moves in cycles. Nothing is ever truly finished. Earlier generations lived this through everyday habits. A shirt became a hand me down, then a quilt patch, then a cleaning cloth. A metal vessel lasted decades thanks to the local polisher. A dabba served multiple purposes before being retired. Leftovers were turned into new dishes. Every kitchen found ways to continue the cycle rather than end it.
Neighbourhood workers like cobblers, tailors, knife sharpeners, and tin repairers created small circular systems that kept products useful for longer. They extended life instead of encouraging disposal.
As India modernises, this instinct risks fading. Convenience can sometimes overshadow care. Yet at a time when the world is facing environmental limits, India does not need new frameworks. It only needs to remember what it already knows.
Circularity here is not theory. It is a lived experience and cultural inheritance. It reminds us that respecting resources is practical, responsible, and deeply human.
At Plaeto, this mindset shapes how products are made. Shoes are designed to last longer, reducing frequent replacement, and materials are chosen for durability and lower carbon impact. The cycle continues even after a child outgrows a pair. Through Plaeto’s partnership with Goonj, gently used shoes are passed on to communities where footwear provides comfort, dignity, and mobility. Instead of becoming waste, they continue their journey with someone who needs them.
Plaeto is not creating circularity. It is continuing an Indian value: use what you have fully, extend its life, and let it serve its purpose for as long as it can.
