The Silicon Review ^Asia

More than 6.9 pounds of cigarette filters litter every corner of the globe. According to the national geography report, over 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are littered every year. Most of these synthetic filters take over 15 years to decompose. What if every cigarette butts thrown, instead of polluting the earth grows into a plant. Sounds unbelievable, sounds alien, doesn’t it?  And this is exactly where Karma Tips steps in.

The handmade cigarette filters of Karma Tips are biodegradable and chemical free, and also ensures extra tar and nicotine absorption. Vedabroto Roy, who founded the company along with his wife, Chethana Prasad told that the concept occurred to him when he found out, it was not the tobacco that was the ‘villain’ but the papers which are used for rolling! The papers are manufactured, to ‘burn continuously’ and slowly, by treating them with chemicals and also to make them more addictive. The papers are treated with Butane, Toluene, Nicotine, Acetic acid, Acetone, Cadmium, Arsenic, Benzene, Ammonia and many more. Cigarettes are more addictive, the slower they burn.

The Karma Tips’ RYO- roll your own cigarette filters use natural cotton and vegetable pulp which increases the absorption and they are also embedded with seeds. The seeds are a unique breed which can sustain the nicotine, smoke and heat while smoking and grow instantly when thrown. So, with these filters, you are not littering anymore but help grow plants. The company has made good deals to export the products into the markets of Brazil, Kenya, Norway, France and Sri Lanka. The company with few online sellers in India has planned to commercially launch its products this January.