Professor Saji Varghese, an English professor at Christ University, Bengaluru, makes eco-friendly and biodegradable straws from coconut leaves to empower rural women and replace single-use plastic. He set up Sunbird Straws in 2020 and now exports the products to the Netherlands, Spain, and Canada, in addition to selling them in India. The startup clocked ₹ 70 lakh turnover last fiscal.