Divya Sejwali is a frequent of one particular dumpyard in Delhi. It's an unnatural sight, seeing a 17-year-old there, foraging amongst the rubbish for treasure, or at least what she considers a treasure. Tyres!
Then, these tyres are packed off to a network of cobblers, who await this parcel, their hands almost itching for work, a lack of which has been induced by the pandemic. Divya has already briefed them, so they know exactly what to do with these. They use their repository of traditional knowledge and blend it in with what Divya excepts from them. And when the finished product is ready, it's a sight to behold.
And that's how the effort that goes into the creation of footwear from the house of Tyron.
Where it all began
Started by Divya along with Co-conspirator Parth Puri (15), who is now the Chief Marketing Officer and the Chief Technology Officer, Tyron is the idea whose seed was sown when the duo participated in ENpower's Indian Future Tycoons (IFT), the same ENpower that nurtures an entrepreneurship learning ecosystem for schools.
As they say, 'Three times the charm' and so it was. In season three of IFT, the idea took root. "We received several insights into our business plans thanks to the competition," says Divya, a student of Kodaikanal International School, Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu. And encompassing all that they had learned, the duo and Tyron took off in June 2021. Not to forget the $5,000 seed funding from World Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge, a competition in which they participated in after IFT.
But why tyres? Before tyres, the thought that these students wanted to put into action was that of sustainability, a cause they are conscious and passionate about. Hence, the thought of going sustainable and then, their research led them to tyres.
Did you know? As per reports, of the 1.5 billion-plus waste tyres that are generated around the world on a yearly basis, a significant six per cent is from India. "I thought, if we can do anything out of these, it would be insane," shares Parth. The duo went to the same school, Tagore International School, Delhi, before Divya moved to Tamil Nadu.
Here comes help
Testing the waters, the duo discovered that footwear is the easiest product that can be made from tyres. Especially, when they saw how it could empower cobblers. "We are based out of Delhi and cobblers frequent our community. That's when it just clicked and I reached out to one, two and eventually, built a network of cobblers," shares Divya. Since her father is posted in Rajasthan, the cobblers there have also been roped in. What they do is execute Divya's design by adding their own inputs and are rewarded with not just job satisfaction, but with some extra income, apart from their livelihood, which sees them through rough times like these.
What's more? No matter what output the cobblers produce, they are assured a fixed wage. "Their ideas and inputs lent both an Indian and Western look to our designs which will help us reach out to more and more customers," says Divya, a Class XI student, who currently works with 20 cobblers.
A word about their sleek footwear that indeed gives off a fusion vibe. At least, that's what the eight slippers and sliders listed on their website tell us. Though it's for ladies only now, they aim to make it unisex plus offer more varieties. Falling within the price range of Rs 600 to Rs 1,200, one would never believe that these chic designs are made from old, worn-out and discarded tyres found in dumpyards!
Talking sales
Also, speaking of customers, they've sold 150 pairs of footwear and their designs have reached Harvard University too. "Just for the students to analyse and give inputs, if any. Plus, it helped us go international," Divya beams. They are also in talks with e-commerce portals Myntra and Amazon so that they can retail their products, apart from doing so via their website, which falls under the ambit of Parth.
"Initially, people who purchased the footwear from us came back saying that they were quite heavy. Hence, we started focussing on weight distribution," shares Parth.
But, one has to give it to them when it comes to sustainability, they try to incorporate recyclable elements even in their packaging and stay as far away from plastic as possible. Way to go!
Check out their collection by visiting tyron.in
