NEW YORK (PIX11) — Dr. Manasa Mantravadi is a pediatrician by training and mother of three young kids. Her latest journey started on a text message with other doctor friends.
“Have you seen the new American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement?” The text read. “They’re saying plastic is bad for our children’s health. What are you going to do with all those dishes?”
“I remember thinking, I use stainless steel,” Mantravadi said. “Because my own mom actually made me do that when I first went out into the world to get dishes for my kids.”
So she actually had an alternative to plastic dishes for kids that was rooted in her upbringing in India, and those traditions.
“I thought ‘well surely there has to be companies out there doing this,’ and it turns out there really weren’t. So that’s really what started the journey.”
Mantravadi felt compelled to provide a solution that she already had at home and provide that information and education to all the other moms who weren’t pediatricians, which is how Ahimsa came to be.
“Ahimsa” is a Sanskrit word that means “avoiding harm,” which is what Mantravadi wanted to do with her product. The dishes come in an array of colorful stainless steel designs, and she is now looking at getting the line into school cafeterias.
