Launch of PRICE: Advancing Circular Economy Research in the Global South
PRICE ( Practice and Research in Circular Economy)
A new research group PRICE ( Practice and Research in Circular Economy) was formed in collaboration with Lulea University of Technology Sweden and University College London in January 2026. PRICE will bring together practitioners, researchers, policy makers and civil society members working on Circular Economy related issues in the Global South.
About the Group
The PRICE group, established at the Centre for Global South Studies (XC-GLoSS), XLRI Jamshedpur, brings together researchers, academics and practitioners committed to advancing circular economy thinking and practice in the Global South. The group operates at the intersection of academic rigour and real-world application — creating a space where evidence-based research meets the lived experiences of those building circular solutions on the ground.
The Team
Prof. Subhasis Ray
XLRI Jamshedpur, India
Prof. Himadri RoyChaudhuri
XLRI Jamshedpur, India
Dr. Sampriti Mahanty
University College London (UCL), London
Dr. Debadrita Panda
Luleå University of Technology (LTU), Sweden
About the Practitioner Interaction Series
“Academia and industry must come closer together — to identify, understand and solve the societal problems that neither can tackle alone. That is the spirit in which PRICE was created.”
The PRICE Practitioner Interaction Series serves as a platform to connect research and practice by bringing together entrepreneurs, industry experts, policymakers, and academics working on circular economy challenges in the Global South. Through these conversations, we document real-world business models, innovations, challenges, and lessons that can support teaching, research, policy development, and entrepreneurial practice.
PRICE invites practitioners who share a mission for improving circularity through their products, solutions and services. These companies operate across India, belong to various stages of their entrepreneurial journey, and engage in a monthly interaction focused on:
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1Their journey — the founding story and mission
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2Offerings — products, services and circular innovations
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3Why circularity? — what made it a personal and strategic imperative
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4Challenges and practices — barriers faced and innovations developed
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5Looking forward — vision, needs and how research can help
The summaries shared here are intended to make practitioner knowledge more accessible, stimulate new ideas, and foster meaningful dialogue between those creating solutions and those studying them. By learning directly from practitioners, we hope to build a stronger evidence base for sustainable and inclusive development.
We warmly welcome both academicians and practitioners to join our future interactions. Please feel free to reach out to us through LinkedIn—we would be delighted to connect, exchange ideas, and explore opportunities for collaboration
Practitioner Briefs
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Ceiba Green Solutions (Neelima Mishra)
How can waste management create environmental, social, and economic value simultaneously?
Discover how Ceiba Green Solutions combines technology, informal waste workers, and citizen engagement to build a more circular urban ecosystem.
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Inside this brief: real-world lessons on circular entrepreneurship, waste governance, and inclusive innovation.
Sabuj Tech (Prakash Ajay Taksal)
Can agricultural waste replace imported industrial materials?
Learn how Sabuj Tech transforms agricultural biomass into advanced materials while reducing costs, creating local jobs, and strengthening industrial sustainability.
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Inside this brief: innovation, circular business models, and deep-tech entrepreneurship in emerging markets.
Twirl.store (Sujata Chatterjee)
What happens when urban waste meets women’s empowerment?
Explore how Twirl.store converts discarded materials into globally sold products while creating dignified livelihoods for women from disadvantaged backgrounds.
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Inside this brief: upcycling, social enterprise, and purpose-driven business growth.
Bamboo House India (Prashant Lingam)
Can circular entrepreneurship reclaim both materials and lives?
Discover a community-based business model that transforms waste into long-lasting products while creating livelihoods for marginalized communities.
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Inside this brief: inclusive circular economy models, social innovation, and alternative pathways to scaling impact.
EWX (Shankha Suvra)
Can sustainability begin on the balance sheet instead of burdening it?
Discover an engineering-rooted consulting model that turns waste reduction and process efficiency into measurable savings, letting firms fund their circular transition from the money it saves them.
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Inside this brief: how operational efficiency, waste reduction, and financial value can work together to accelerate the circular transition.
Bunko Junko (Bhavini Parikh)
“She built the niche she needed”: a roadmap for upcycled fashion
Discover a design-led upcycling model built entirely from pre-consumer factory offcuts, where three decades of insider knowledge of brand cost sheets becomes the sourcing advantage, and a self-built digital product passport supplies the traceability the sector never offered.
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Inside this brief: design-led upcycling, responsible sourcing, traceability, and new approaches to circular fashion entrepreneurship.
Pal Fashions (Mr. Charan Singh Ahuja)
Green before anyone asks: change in Indian textiles follows whoever pays or insists
Discover how India's first GreenCo Gold rated textile company runs the most polluting stage of production to verified global standards, even though its current buyers do not ask for it. The talk shows that change in the industry comes from resource prices and buyer rules, not consumers. It also shows why the firm treats certification as a way in to supply chains it has yet to enter.
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Inside this brief: design-led upcycling, responsible sourcing, traceability, and new approaches to circular fashion entrepreneurship.
Mangalam Lubricants (Mr. Philip Mathew)
When demand fails, fix demand. When supply fails, fix the rules
Discover how a family re-refiner in Ranchi has stayed in business for 45 years by fixing whichever side of the market broke. When demand collapsed, it launched its own brand and removed the smell that made buyers distrust recycled oil. When supply dried up, it helped shape a national standard and new rules that now guarantee buyers. That guarantee has put the pressure back on the supply side.
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Inside this brief: design-led upcycling, responsible sourcing, traceability, and new approaches to circular fashion entrepreneurship.
Pro India (Mr. Amit Saha)
Pulled by the market, pushed by technology, shaped by policy
Discover how a small, self-funded circular economy consultancy decides what to sell. The market pays for one thing, lower cost. Technology lets one person run like a team but makes knowledge cheap. Policy created the firm's first business, then took the margin away once the rules became transparent. So the portfolio keeps moving toward work that cannot be looked up.
Download this practitioner brief
Inside this brief: design-led upcycling, responsible sourcing, traceability, and new approaches to circular fashion entrepreneurship.
