Diwali 2018: Gasping Delhi goes for greener gift options

As the air quality in Delhi oscillates between ‘severe’ and ‘very poor’, the gift section in most of the online and offline stores has seen a greener change ahead of Diwali.

‘Gift a Plant’, reads a counter in a super market, offering plants like tulsi and neem and poinsettia. An employee at the store said, “The trend has suddenly taken over. Many customers reach our outlets asking for plants that can be gifted.”

However, it was online firms that introduced the ‘Gift a Plant’ concept, replacing traditional options like sweet boxes or packaged treats for the corporate sector.

One of the biggest online firms offering plants as a gifting option, Project Co. saw a 300 times jump in sales of the plants in this festive season.

“This is being done by numerous corporates. In fact, this year we have got so many queries that I don’t think we were prepared for this deluge,” said Shabnam Singh, founder of Project Co.

The demand for plants is also diversified as consumers inquired about traditional plants like tulsi, curry leaf and neem along with flowering plants and succulents. However, succulents and leafy plants formed a major chunk of the purchases.

“Whether it is the traditional tulsi, curry patta or the evergreens or it is the classic florals like the poinsettia and aglaonemas, the demand has increased many folds this season,” added Singh.