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Golden Feathers : Natural fibers upcycled from slaughterhouse chicken waste feathers

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Nationality
India
Group
Golden Feathers - 6th Eco-Fiber Pioneers
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#CircularEconomy #NaturalFiber #Upcycling #Craft

About Project

Golden Feathers is a social enterprise based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. The company fully recycles millions of tons of slaughterhouse chicken feather waste each year to develop what is now recognized as the world’s sixth natural fiber. Through this innovation, it reduces landfill saturation, methane emissions, and water pollution, while replacing harmful conventional materials and promoting a circular economy.

The newly developed fiber is ten times warmer, softer, and more durable than existing natural or synthetic fibers, earning recognition as an eco-friendly innovation. After 13 years of research and development, the company patented a 27-step natural purification process that transforms feathers into high-performance biodegradable fiber, which can be processed into textiles or paper as substitutes for synthetic materials or wood.

Production follows a decentralized, craft-based system that combines traditional techniques with green innovation. This approach provides stable employment for tribal artisans while addressing both environmental pollution and unemployment, presenting a circular model for sustainable development. To date, more than 150 waste collectors, over 200 tribal women, and more than 60 artisans and weavers have participated, continuing traditional spinning and weaving methods.

Golden Feathers recycles 57,000 kilograms of waste annually and has reused more than 1,000 tons over the past three years, preventing 7.76 billion kilograms of carbon emissions. It has also provided stable livelihoods to over 2,000 tribal women and trained more than 375 semi-skilled workers, offering compensation up to 20 times the average wage.

Looking ahead, the company plans to establish craft villages for tribal artisans to preserve traditional techniques while expanding education and employment. With experience in training more than 5,000 tribal women, Golden Feathers demonstrates how craft and climate action can coexist, offering a vision of how rising demand for eco-friendly materials can be met with minimal resources.

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