Zero-waste accessories and gifting solutions by UPES students

Team Kalakrit, comprising UPES School of Design students – Khyati Gupta, Ridhi Sood, and Kashish Kohli – make biodegradable and eco-friendly products under the guidance of their professor, Manas Ranjan Misra

During the festive season, we often come across gifts that are non-biodegradable and add to the carbon footprints. Team Kalakrit, comprising UPES School of Design students –  Khyati Gupta, Ridhi Sood, and Kashish Kohli – have come up with a sustainable solution under the guidance of their professor, Manas Ranjan Misra. 

These students have been making baked clay earrings, home décor items, therapeutic aromatic candles, and they even take customised orders for similar products. The products are organic, vegan, natural, sustainable, recycled, handmade, and biodegradable.

Says Khyati Gupta, “The idea came from the basic thought of ‘wastage and burden’ that a rakhi creates in its wake. Due to religious reasons, the thread cannot be disposed of in a bin and plastic is extremely harmful to nature. We can do a lot for our environment by making gifting options at home with eco-friendly materials instead of plastics, sparkles, beads, etc., caring for the environment, while retaining style, coolness, purpose, and fashion. Our products are zero-waste and come with zero-waste packaging.”

She further adds, “Through our products, we attempt to support the families who have lost their primary breadwinners due to Covid-19. We want to support underprivileged people by offering them employment opportunities. We  also intend to conduct workshops in the less developed areas to create awareness of these handicrafts. We even want to expand our venture, targeting all the Indian festivals and events.”

Talking about the response to their products, Kashish Kohli says, “We are overwhelmed with the feedback that we got from our audience. Some people have even extolled our products as ‘revolutionary’. Some people also appreciated the finishing and design, and we are going to keep improving on it in all our upcoming projects. UPES provided us with a platform and audience who supported us throughout. We are even looking forward to getting registered with UCIE.”