JOIN USWhen it comes to giving a ‘return gift’ to guests at any function, be it a wedding or a birthday party, we often get confused as to what can we give. With increased awareness about the importance of an eco-friendly lifestyle, more people are opting for ‘green’ products. One such option is gifting a plant. Understanding the green trend, many efforts have begun in the State to promote such interests. One such effort is the Davanagere-based Enviro Friend, the brainchild of Girish Naik. “It all began when my family and I were brainstorming as to what we can give the guests as tamboola at my sister’s wedding,” he says.
This led him to consider the idea of gifting plants. As the response from guests was good, Girish decided facilitate others too, and launched the initiative in May 2015.
While his sister’s marriage may have been the catalyst, it was the unnecessary destruction of the environment that got him to work more fervently. Many of these damages, he believes, can only be countered by growing more plants. “By enabling people to gift plants at their functions, we hope to increase the planet’s green cover,” says Girish.
Initially, they started with orders for two to three weddings per month. As more people got interested, this increased to 10 to 12 weddings every month. Instead of forcing everyone to take the gift, Girish suggests, only those who are interested must be encouraged to take the plants.
Eventually, people got used to ‘green gifts’ at other events such as birthday parties too. Whatever the size of the event is, they take a few of each variety that they have and deliver across Karnataka. With the increase in demand, the initiative started a Bengaluru office in August 2016.
Immense growth
Gifting plants is gradually gaining a lot of traction. Take for instance Nishita Potluri, an entrepreneur, who gave out plants to her guests at her husband’s 50th birthday party. “Many of our guests were quite happy with the unique gift and some call me quite often to say plant growing well,” smiles Nishita. “I gifted the plants for three reasons: it acts as a reminder of good times, is something different and lastly, it is a greener way to gift.” Additionally, what has the attention of many of Enviro Friend’s customers is their unique packaging. Not only is it eco-friendly, it is also comes with a customised message.
What makes Girish’s initiative stand out is that they only give out perennial plants. They initially began with 25 to 30 varieties, and three to four months down the line, this increased to 50 to 60 varieties. Rare trees such as raktachandana, flowering ones such as champaka, and fruit trees such as jackfruit are some of the plants that they offer. They also work with farmers, who maintain nurseries, to get healthy plants.
Whatever the occasion, gifting potted plants is a good gifting choice. For more information about Enviro Friend, visit www.envirofriend.in. You can also
contact them on +919141874551 or at sgirishnaik@gmail.com.