What triggered your sustainability journey?
I think from my very young age I was very concerned towards animals and the planet. But I was not aware of the concept of sustainability. In fact at the age of 6, because of my idea of Ahimsa I gave up leather, meat & silk. I was always conscious at that point and I never used to take plastic bags while I went shopping. But around 2012-13, I realized that if I want to save the planet then it is not enough to just avoid plastic bags. There’s a lot more that we are doing that is contributing towards the harm of the planet and we need to change that pattern. What struck me was that I too was contributing to the overflowing dustbin in front of my house. I shouldn’t just blame my neighbor or the government for not doing anything to fix the problem.That’s when I took up a personal interest to research on various ways I could be more sustainable at home and in my life. I believe this is how my sustainable journey started which also triggered me to start my own brand ‘Goli Soda’ in the year 2013.
Your personal sustainability mantra:
To be mindful of every action. To take it slow and not to jump into it altogether to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Accept that to live a sustainable life it is an ongoing process of learning and relearning.
One sustainable habit that you never want to let go of:
I think after practicing sustainable menstruation for over 10 years, I don’t think that I can ever go back to disposable and synthetic products.
One sustainable habit that you would love to develop:
I want to shift to using ink pens instead of regular ball point pens. Need to finish the current stock of pens first before I make the shift.
What would your advice be to people willing to do more to preserve the planet:
Every drop counts. Every little action that you take towards sustainability is a positive action and we have to be mindful of our every step. We should be more empathetic towards the process rather than being more aggressive by forcing these habits on people. Once you force things on people, they might go against it far more. It is like how one treats a child. We need to set an example and people will then follow mindfully. We have to be very cautious that in no way we are greenwashing people. We have to be honest to our cause.
One fact that you would like to tell people about your brand:
We believe we are the pioneers in the space of sustainability in India. Since I have been personally involved in the curation and the development of the brand all these years, you can be assured that if you support us, you are supporting a truly sustainable brand. Our probiotics range of home and personal products is one of a kind in India where the probiotics are good not only for your skin but also helps cleans our water ways.
Author - team awenest
