Some of the work dedicated to the initiative
“Usually we try to separate business from everything else because we want our brand to be a very happy brand in that sense. This time it’s just so bad that there is no other way than to participate in every imaginable way, ”says Pushkar Thakur, founder of the Grafiosi design office and the sustainable Origin One brand. Until May 17, all proceeds from the New Delhi-based label went into COVID aid. After starting The Grafiosi 16 years ago, the intention to build his own brand was based on his hopes to partner with Indian retailers. Pushkar wanted to introduce good design to the Indian market and with this in mind Origin One was founded in the first months of 2015. He describes his own work as global. “We’re not limited to geographical boundaries and don’t follow any particular design language. We are literally constantly creating our own language. “
The company has always strived to give back to the world that inspired it. Origin One has been an environmentally conscious initiative from the start and has always been one step ahead when it comes to sustainability. All administrative documents are printed on non-wood pulp paper and only close to zero plastic is used. They also launched a tree-planting campaign in Delhi. In the past ten months, they have managed to offset around 13,000 kg of carbon dioxide by planting almost 650 trees. The trees are traceable and dedicated to each customer and everyone who supported the project. “Like everyone else, we thought about using our winnings on the weekends. But we just kept expanding it. We weren’t the first to start. We were inspired by a lot of other brands who decided to give something back too, ”says Pushkar.
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After starting a few posts on their social media platforms asking people to join in, they extended their COVID campaign by a few weeks. Pushkar explains: “Business is bad at the moment, but we were hoping we could help in some way. Unfortunately, the reaction was very gloomy. We didn’t even do 1/10 of the business we normally do in a month. That made us a bit paradoxical. It’s just a surprisingly small amount we’ve raised, some other brands have said the same thing. Towards the end a lot of people came through and tried to help. We hope it makes a difference. “
