A T-shirt to help you walk the green mile

It’s a new kind of green revolution — one that involves a funky T-shirt, a thought-provoking message and a chance to donate money to eco-friendly causes. Say hello to the green T-shirt — one that sells for a mere Rs200, of which 10% is donated to an NGO. The green T-shirt aims at showing the world that it is small steps that can make big differences. “This is about expressing passion for a cause and doing something about it, instead of just sitting and lamenting the degradation of the world,” says Sorabh Sodhani, 31, the brain behind the T-shirt.

The plan is to sell a million (ten lakh) T-shirts. “A lot of people want to do something for the environment but are either too lazy or do not know what to do. I am just giving them a funky alternative,” he adds.

The first lot of T-shirts was created two weeks ago, with the front sporting the message: ‘we are human beings but are we being human’ and the back mentioning a few ways of going green. “The T-shirt is for those who are passionate about the cause as only they will be able to see the details,” says Sodhani, who also runs his own souvenir shop at IIT Mumbai. At first glance, the logo looks like a tree, but closer inspection reveals the branches are actually hands reaching out to try and grasp the leaves around them.
Of the 150 T-shirts, 140 have already been sold, raising Rs2,800 through just word of mouth advertising.

The money raised will be given to NGOpost.org — a community that helps channel funds to NGOs doing good work. “Since the focus is on going green, the funds will go to people working towards supplementing or preserving tree cover,” says Parul Gupta, 29, co-founder of NGOpost.

IIT Mumbai graduate Sodhani started the online store Toube Bas (a derivation of his petname Tubby Boss) on February 13 last year. “I got the idea of designing T-shirts when people started showing interest in the ones I had gifted to friends,” says this MBA in sports management.

Those interested can log onto www.toubebas.com.