Page 24 - Plastics News April 2022

FEATURE

The Neeman’s - The ‘Most Promising Startup’

Shoe aficionados Taran Chhabra and Amar Preet Singh turn to recycling for their venture Neeman’s with personal quest
to find an all-purpose all-day shoe with recycled tyres and over 1 million PET bottles. They were recently awarded the
‘most promising startup’ of the year
of it. When we entered the footwear “I wanted to develop a footwear brand
industry we wanted to keep this as the that could also boast of its sustainabil-
core of Neeman’s. Traditionally, shoes ity,” he says. Thus started the journey of
are constructed using plastic, toxic dyes, Neeman’s. In December 2018 the brand
leather from animal skin, and contami- came into being. Interestingly, the brand
nated synthetic materials that are harm- name, Neeman’s, is a combination of
ful to the environment. With Neeman’s, the founder’s parents’ names — Neelam
we didn’t want to add to the already ex- and Manjeet.
isting pollution caused by the sector and, Taran, founder and CEO of Neeman’s
therefore, we decided to bring a change leads R&D to launch some unique and
by opting for materials that would re- unexplored fibres such as Merino Wool,
duce carbon footprints,” says Taran. Recycled PET bottles in the Indian
In 2016, while planning a trip to Spain, footwear industry while Amar is the co-
t takes more than 9,000 litres of wa- Taran found himself carrying an entire founder and COO at Neeman’s All the
Iter to make one pair of leather shoes. suitcase just dedicated to various shoes. sneakers use varied fabrics, all of which
While on average, a family of four uses “I had packed more than a couple of are renewable or eco-friendly, and in
a little over 500 litres of water each day pairs of shoes for different purposes and case it’s neither, the company converts
for their various uses. These statistics and occasions. On top of all this one extra them into sustainable components .Ex-
numbers do not cross our minds as of- pair in case something happened to any plaining this, Amar says, “For instance,
ten as they should.If you have more than of the others I was carrying. This led to materials such as Merino Wool, recycled
two pairs of shoes, then you have just searching for one pair that would suffice PET bottles, recycled tyres and natu-
contributed to using more than 18,000 ral cotton are used to make shoes. The
litres of water, which was used to get all my needs.” use of planet-friendly material was only
them made. While the Indian footwear But, he couldn’t find one. This led Taran possible by blending it well with inno-
market is flooded with both domestic to speak to people in the US and India vation; hence, sustainability and novelty
and international brands, not many are to understand what stopped them from became the driving force behind the
focussed on building a brand based on carrying only one pair of shoes. “The brand. Furthermore, all the materials
sustainability. Neeman’s is India’s first underlying thread that came forth in all used from the uppers, insoles, soles to
footwear brand that uses natural, renew- these conversations was comfort. People packaging, are high-quality and eco-
able, recycled and biodegradable fibres in were looking for comfortable shoes that friendly.”
its shoes. they could use throughout the day,” he

Established in December 2018 by shoe says. However Finance was not that easy. To
aficionados Taran Chhabra and Amar This seemed like a huge problem and establish a brand in an already over-
Preet Singh, Neeman’s was born out of a the duo decided to come together to crowded market was not easy. “Raising
capital in the initial phase came with its
personal quest to find an all-purpose all- try and solve it. They decided to bridge challenges as the overall footwear mar-
day shoe. The brother duo who have re- this gap by manufacturing comfortable ket of $10.6 billion in 2019 was already
cycled over 1 million plastic bottles into footwear for all-day wear, but with the
shoes to date. added attribute of making them eco- crowded with both established and non-
branded products. But with growth
Neeman’s creates sustainable shoes using friendly. Taran describes himself as the predicted at $15.5 billion by 2022, and
Merino wool, recycled tyres and PET person who meticulously looks at the India expected to grow eight folds by
bottles. “We are both not just believers nutritional label before consuming any 2030, the space was ready for additional
in sustainability but also active advocates product. players,” says Taran.

24 PLASTICS NEWS April 2022