Retailers go earth-friendly

Retail outlets observed World Environment Day by reminding consumers of the need

for conservation and preservation. Clothing brand Do U Speak Green tied up with WWF India to contribute 10 per cent of sales revenue to wildlife protection and conservation programs. The brand is India’s first eco-friendly clothing webstore and the world’s first clothing webstore with 10 per cent of sales proceeds going for environment conservation. It’s known for 100 per cent organic cotton and bamboo clothing. For every item of clothing one bought till June 6, the brand planted a sapling in their name.

At Eco Corner, the environment friendly store, consumers traded in their old but still sturdy bags for a brand new cotton bag. They chose from a range of over 40 designs and prints in cotton bags. These bags make one you proud of being an eco-conservationist. And finally Haathi Chaap offered a range of stationery, knick-knacks, frames, photo albums, and other funky stuff, all made of elephant dung. Now that’s about as eco-friendly as anyone can get. The method used for making elephant dung paper is more or less the same as making other varieties of handmade paper. Disinfectants are used to make the paper as bacteria-free as possible. The dung is collected from various elephant stables and is washed thoroughly with water in large tanks. At the end, all that is left is the fiber. Since this process is water intensive, it is preferably done close to cultivated land… the water acts as a fertilizer.