Retail therapy, not just for you.

BANGALORE, India - June 8, 2013 - PRLog -- We hear it everyday. The earth is warming rapidly. Freshwater sources are drying up. Over a third of the earth’s resources have been used up in just 50 years. India has the highest population of malnourished children in the world, 230 million, even while agricultural produce of Rs. 580 million is lost every year. There is no doubt that sustainability is the need of the hour – to conserve, replenish and reduce our dependence on earth’s precious natural resources. But how can this urgency translate to action we take, not just today, or this month, but in everyday life?

The first edition of The Green Bazaar, presented by India’s leading Organic Food consumer brand, 24-Mantra Organic and organized by The Alternative, a media platform for sustainable living, is a step towards making green an everyday choice and a way of life.

Presented at the Ascendas Park Square Mall, ITPB on the 8th and 9th of June, The Green Bazaar is showcasing earth-friendly choices for a variety of home and lifestyle needs. The bazaar has stalls serving essential home needs like organic food, kitchen utilities, smart energy saving devices and bio-degradable detergents as well as regular lifestyle products such as chemical free and cruelty free cosmetics, upcycled jewellery and solar backpacks.

The mall as a location is an opportunity for regular weekend movie-goers, shoppers and those eating out, to think about going green. Ravi Shankar, a visitor at the Park Square Mall, shared, “The initiative is good. I am planning to buy juice and hair oil from the stalls. It’ll be the first time that I am trying this kind of products so let’s see how do they work. Green to me means saving the entire planet, be it water or trees or electricity.”

For Shruti, another visitor, it is about a better future for kids. “It is a way to move towards a better way of life and away from the unsustainable practices of the past. Green means organic.”

Ifthi of myecoday.com which has solar products at the Bazaar, says, “Reactions have been pretty good too. Many people are interested in knowing more about the kind of product we deal in.” Their DIY solar kits that make submarines and helicopters, are a big hit with the kids entering the mall, they say.

Vishnumurthy of the Ascendas Group is very positive about introducing green thinking in various ways in the mall. “We have an ongoing Ascendas Go Green initiative that we’d like to further with events around conscious consumption, at the mall. In fact, we have a concert coming up at the end of the month featuring a Drum Jam and more, to build more awareness among people about greener ways of living.”

For 24-Mantra Organic, “The Green Bazaar” is an endeavour to provide a window to sustainable lifestyles. “Our objective is to bring everything that is pertaining to organic and natural under one roof and make this an ideal destination for all organic believers and supporters. Through this initiative we would like to increase the awareness levels of organic and enroll more and more new customers.”

“We believe that Sustainability can actually translate to a bunch of small things – mindful choices and exciting new ideas, opportunities, products and ways of living that one can discover, from energy saving devices to water flow restrictors, organic food, eco-friendly fashion, lead-free toys and more. It isn’t about what one ‘ought to do’ so that the planet can survive, but what one would ‘like to do’ – for one self, for one’s kids, for one’s health, for the family and for that unique incredible experience that makes sense to you”, says Aarti Mohan, Editor of The Alternative, a media platform on sustainable living, that has organized the bazaar.

“The Green Bazaar is part of a larger ‘Paint Your Green’ campaign we are running all June to make green a habit, everyday. We started on World Environment Day and we hope to have a lot more people aware and conscious and doing these little things that can make a big difference to our present and future.”

The Green Bazaar is going to be held at malls and IT parks all this month.

More details at www.thealternative.in/paintyourgreen.

About 24-Mantra Organic:  24 Mantra Organic is an organic food brand of Sresta Natural Bioproducts Pvt. Ltd. Sresta is an integrated organic food company encompassing Farming, Processing, R&D, Exports and Domestic Retailing. Sresta’s vision is to provide sustainable livelihood for farmers, sustainable lifestyles for consumers and a sustainable Earth.

Sresta has over 200 products. The supply chain covers more than 12000 farmers with 50000 acres across 15 States and 15 Processing facilities. The farms, products, facilities are certified for EU, USDA NOP & Indian NPOP standards. The processing facilities are certified   for GMP, GHP, HACCP, ISO22000, BRC.

About The Alternative: The Alternative (www.thealternative.in) is a media platform focused on sustainable living and social impact. We strive to make sustainability an everyday conversation through choices we can make in our daily lives - from food to travel - in a way that lends itself to positive social impact.

To promote the ideas of social good in everyday life, the platform connects with mainstream audience through our online publication, conversations on social media, online campaigns, print publications, on the ground campaigns, offline workshops and events.