Green piece

For one, paper’s what everyone is looking towards for initiating the drive. Nods Poonam Thakur of Khadi Plus, who is busy thinking of some funky ideas for paper bags for the store and also shows you around the all-new natural ensembles which are high on looks and make ideal gifts, especially this festive season. “Natural products are our mainstay, be it chemical and scent-free soaps, cosmetics and now even sweets, which come loaded with natural ingredients like honey almonds et al and are packed as lovely gift items too,’’ Poonam recommends the latest designer stoles, hand-spun and made from all natural materials.

At Good Beginnings too, street children are learning environmental creative art from their teacher and ‘creative head’ Sangeeta Vardhan, who has designed eco-friendly block-printed reusable bags and also cloth bags made from left-over threads, old clothes, trimmings et al, “some of these are embroidered, look trendy and are so practical and we can hopefully wean people off leather too,’’ all these along with “can tab” bracelets, kurtas etc will be sold by children to help them earn a living and make people more conscious. “And you can spread the word by gifting these too,’’ she smiles.

At theTheatre Age, work’s on full swing to make bags from old newspapers and in various sizes. General stores, vegetable vendors, boutiques, Zulfikar Khan is now planning to also get children to do cloth bags, “serves the dual purpose of earning a living and saving the environment.’’ At Fabindia there’s a huge collection of jute and bamboo bags, and also natural wrapping paper, papier-mache products, while Anokhi stocks funky cotton bags with Rajasthani prints. Natural oils, aroma essences, natural fruits, vegetables growing in the Arya Vihar Ashram are used to produce Sundaram soaps and face washes that are being promoted here for all the right reasons. “Life of yoga is more than economy and and we want to reach out to larger sections,’’ says an ashram representative. Go green!