According to a survey conducted in 2018, India creates 25,000 tons of plastic waste every year, of which only 9% is recycled. One of the classic examples of single-use plastic is plastic straws. Plastic products are majorly made from polypropylene, a material that degrades very slowly, out of which small items are even more difficult to recycle; hence materials like straws end up in a landfill or damage our oceans and marine wildlife. Professor Saji devised an alternative to replace plastic straws with eco-friendly straws made from coconut leaves. From 1 fallen coconut leaf, 150 -200 straws can be made; they realized it is a very good scalable and sustainable product and an alternative to plastic straws. The country aims to revolutionize rural employment and meet global demand. These straws are developed from falling coconut leaves which are abundant in our country and are mostly discarded or burned. As the first sample, Saji developed a single-layer coconut leaf straw in 2017. But by 2018, Prof. Saji came up with a final product of coconut leaf straws available, from regular ones to straws that can be used for cocktails, shakes, smoothies, and boba tea. These eco-friendly straws range from 4 to 8 inches long and 3 to 13 mm in diameter. They developed a 2nd gen machine (multi-purpose machine), which took 45s to develop one straw. They recently upgraded the technology and have developed a conveyor system where time has reduced to 1.5s from 45s, and fatigue is also reduced. Machines are developed in-house and are patented. The product process technology is also patented and has 31 claims under it. The company aims to employ 2000 women at the end of the year and reach production of 1 lakh/day. Prof. Saji has developed a start-up named Sunbird straw to make a difference. This innovation is a blessing to mother nature as it has prevented the burning of coconut leaves, has played a part in reducing the usage of plastic straws and has empowered women in rural communities through employment. Also, this innovation has received several acknowledgments and awards, including the Shreshta Udyami Guru Puraskar 2020 from the entrepreneurship development institute of India and the first position at the startup launchpad by the ASSOCHAM, New Delhi.