No nasty deal this

Make your bucks go a long way at this one-day fair to exhibit eco-friendly, ethical products.

In 2009, news roll was packed with reports about the dismal state of affairs in rural India. The year recorded an alarming number of farmer suicides (916) and caused a rippling effect in the west, making one Englishman, Seth Petchers, take action. “A lot of export wear is produced in India, but the share that the farmers get is almost negligible,” says Petchers, who started Shop for Change, a non-profit
company that works on the fair trade principle and hopes to give back to the grassroot levels.

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Started in January 2010, the company works with over 5,300 cotton farmers in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. While Anita Dongre and her designer label, AND, were the first to adopt this ethical shopping programme, more and more companies are now opening up to the idea of environment-friendly products that provide a better share to farmers.

Apurva Kothari and Titi Kotecha’s new clothing brand, No Nasties, is one such offshoot. The “guilt-free” green brand offers certified fair trade, organic clothing that is ethically and sustainably made from seed to garment. “The one big turning point came through a newspaper article. It was about how the cotton belt in India was being renamed the suicide belt. That’s when I decided to do something,” adds Kothari, who launched his brand last month.