Canvaloop: Building India’s Green Textile Supply Chain

Transforming agricultural waste into textile-grade fibres, creating scalable climate impact for India’s fashion ecosystem with MIF’s Scale Up.

By Marico Innovation Foundation September 26, 2025 | 1:06 PM
Visual showing the transformation of natural hemp fiber into soft, cotton-like material, representing Canvaloop's sustainable textile innovation. The image includes three fiber stages arranged left to right with an upward arrow and hemp plant at the bottom, part of Scale-Up program by Marico Innovation Foundation.

When Canvaloop set out to reimagine the Indian textile sector, it had a simple goal: to transform agricultural waste—typically burned and responsible for significant air and land pollution—into high-performance, sustainable fibres. The startup used closed-loop technology to extract 100% biodegradable, textile-grade fibres. Its patent pending process transforms crop waste into fibers that closely resemble the physical properties of cotton. This makes fibre suitable for products like T-shirts, denim, home textiles and more, offering a sustainable alternative. Canvaloop’s method also uses just 0.1% of the water required by conventional cotton fibre production.

The idea was born out of both professional legacy and a sense of personal awakening. CEO Shreyans Kokra, whose family has been in the textile business for over four decades, became acutely aware of the industry’s environmental impact during his entrepreneurship course at Babson College in the US. That became the springboard for Canvaloop’s mission to align fashion with sustainability, without compromising on performance or scalability.

Breaking the Sourcing Barrier

Like many cleantech startups navigating the complex landscape of Indian agriculture and manufacturing, Canvaloop’s road to scale was far from smooth. A key bottleneck was raw material sourcing. The startup identified crop waste as a promising raw material, but struggled to build a reliable, farmer-friendly sourcing model within India. Due to the fragmented nature of agricultural waste collection, the company had no choice but to import linseed waste from Egypt and Europe, facing higher costs and inconsistent quality in the process.

A Turning Point with MIF’s Scale-Up Programme

This changed in October 2024, when Canvaloop joined Marico Innovation Foundation’s Scale-Up programme. MIF, in collaboration with the National Association for Farmer Producer Organisations (NAFPO), worked closely with the startup to unlock a domestic sourcing model.

With guidance offered by MIF’s bespoke mentorship led by Arun V, Head Operations, Digital Business Procurement, Marico, Canvaloop was able to identify key linseed-producing regions and connect with grassroots-level Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) such as Madhya Bharat Consortium and Transform Rural India Foundation (TRIF). These collaborations allowed the startup to understand harvesting patterns and current waste handling practices. This enabled Canvaloop to streamline waste collection and collate waste from different smallholder farmers.

With MIF’s support, Canvaloop is reducing import dependency, ensuring better quality control, and significantly lowering procurement costs.

Measurable, Multi-Level Impact

Canvaloop has delivered a significant impact on multiple fronts since:

Stitching a Circular Future

Canvaloop’s model illustrates how a circular economy can be built at the intersection of climate innovation, inclusive sourcing, and grassroots entrepreneurship. By monetising what was previously considered waste, the company is enabling farmers to earn more, reducing open-field burning (a major source of air pollution), and creating jobs in rural India.

As of 2025, Canvaloop remains an active Scale-Up participant. Its journey underscores what’s possible when startups, ecosystem enablers like MIF, and FPOs work together to build scalable, inclusive, and climate-positive enterprises—right from India’s farms to its fashion stores.

Explore more insights

MIF In The Press

India’s Startup Revolution: From Outsourcing Hub to Global Innovation Leader

FICCI's 2023 publication features insights from MIF leadership on India's emergence as a global startup and innovation hub.

January 10, 2024
Plastic Waste Management

Tackling India’s Plastic Crisis: Startups Leading the Charge Towards Sustainability

Innovations backed by the Marico Innovation Foundation are spearheading the transformative change needed in the plastics value chain.

June 13, 2024
Entrepreneurship

Understanding the Drivers and Barriers in Rural Women’s Entrepreneurship

Rural women entrepreneurs face significant systemic hurdles, but with skills, capital, mentorship, and societal shifts, they can drive rural India's economy and well-being.

April 22, 2022
See All Insights

Innovation (Inno), Success (Win) & what it takes to get there.

Subscribe to InnoWin, our monthly newsletter, where we blend insight with inspiration & action with aspiration.

Join our mailing list