Khadi Codes (fictional name) sells sustainable fashion basics to 25–35 year-old urban buyers. Their NPS in mid-2025 was 34 — decent for the category, but not reflective of the quality of their product. Exit surveys pointed to one consistent theme: 'the product is great but the packaging feels wasteful.'
The Packaging Audit
They audited their packaging stack: tissue paper inner wrap, polybag, cardboard outer box, packing tape. None of it had any sustainability credentials. The polybag was standard LDPE, the tissue used bleaching agents, and the cardboard couldn't be verified as recycled content.
- Replaced LDPE polybag with 100% recycled PET (rPET) compostable mailer — added ₹8/unit but eliminated the plastic guilt.
- Switched tissue paper to unbleached kraft tissue from a Pune supplier with FSC Chain of Custody certification.
- Outer box supplier already used 80% recycled content — they just hadn't told the customer. Added a printed certification stamp.
- Replaced plastic tape with water-activated kraft tape — the only change that also looked premium.
The Supplier Discovery Challenge
The hardest part wasn't the decision — it was finding certified suppliers. FSC-certified tissue suppliers in India number fewer than 20. rPET mailer suppliers who can certify recycled content are even fewer. The co-founder spent 3 weeks on IndiaMART and calls before finding credible options through a packaging trade association referral.
This is exactly the problem SourceGrid was designed to solve. Certified sustainable packaging suppliers exist — they're just invisible. A category-specific, verified directory would have cut this brand's discovery time from 3 weeks to 3 hours.
"Our customers started photographing the packaging. Unboxing videos increased 140% in two months. We hadn't changed the product — only the way it arrived."
— Co-Founder, Sustainable fashion D2C brand, Bengaluru