Recycling a new trend

Most of us ramble on about saving the world, going green by recycling whatever we can. But here's a person who has gone that extra mile and launched an online home décor and accessories store, Punaha, where everything is made with upcycled objects.

Swetha Loknath, an MBA graduate likes to call herself an eco-entrepreneur, who started her brand because her heart bled, watching the garden city turn into a garbage city. She picks up empty bottles, tetra packs, newspapers and old magazines, and pretties them up, by making belts, hair gear and home décor items out of them, starting at Rs 80.

“In this race to make Earth a greener place, even a baby step counts! Punaha, which means 'again' in Sanskrit, is one such baby step. We want to say 'think again' before discarding stuff into land fills.

And every time we make a sale, we contribute a king's share of our profits to our Urban Re-Greening project, in which we put up saplings for adoption by-annually ," says the pretty dame.

She began this venture a month ago and is operating online. “Online stores give any novice entrepreneur that much needed platform from where they can take off," she says, adding that she would rather be involved in creating something new than manning a physical store. Hardly a month old on Facebook and she has more than 500 'Green Warriors' backing her up! “The response has been overwhelming," she quips.

Ask her if she always wanted to start something on these lines and she jokes, “If you cut me up I'll probably bleed green. But that's how much it means to me. I have always made an effort to live a sustainable lifestyle."

She adds that she is inspired by Saaluramada Timmakka, who, planted around 300 banyan trees and showed how much of a difference one person can make.

An aspiring vegan, this multi-talented woman is also into painting and baking. She loves travelling and rafting as well! With an aim of changing the mind sets of Bengalureans, “I want them to get rid of the crazy quest to possess the 'latest products' and then turn the planet into a junkyard of outdated goods! It is still not too late to think again and think green," she urges.

You can check out her products on https://http://www.facebook.com/ Punaha