The Better India @ Market place

June 13, 2019

How Much Difference Can You Make With a Purchase? Find Out!

Keep The Change...Going

If my father was asked in 1999, when I was a child, almost nothing produced by the many imaginations of humans was 'worth' buying, especially anything in toy form or made of chocolate.

If my memory serves me right, he mostly seems to have bought rice and vegetables.

Now that I am all grown up - I honestly identify more with my father than 'mini-me'. So though I can, I do not buy any toys. Nowadays, my shopping is occupied by different thoughts.

Things like - Is it organic? Is someone being oppressed or underpaid for this? Is this helping someone, other than a giant corporation looking to squeeze every last drop of profit from my blood? Does this come in pink?

Alright, perhaps the last one is my thought alone, but the point is that we have turned a small corner as consumers, and more and more of us to take that extra five minutes to consider if our purchase is causing any harm?

Or, on the reverse, if our purchase is literally, bringing light (and ration, and education, and Diwali sweets) in the home of some far off people, long struggling to live a life of dignity?

Now, we here at The Better India are in a unique position to address that concern.

Every day, we deal with vendors, creators, artisans and helpers struggling to ensure that those who produce, create or assemble something receive the wages they deserve.

From fabrics painted with vegetable dye and made by widows, to organic honey gathered by tribals, every day, we see sure-shot evidence that every purchase CAN make a difference, and save the planet.

It is to ensure that such people, and this thought, gets the platform it deserves that we decided to build a marketplace that allows consumers to make a difference.

And to help our readers explore this marketplace, we will be sending across a new newsletter every week.

I hope it helps you, the readers, find something awesome and brings smiles to your faces.

Because, in the end, buying is more than a purchase, it is making a difference. Let's make it a good one.

Do have a look at our marketplace here.

- Vinayak Hegde

Letters To The Editor

The coverage about the living root bridges is very good. Real life heroes like Mr Morning Star are the need of the hour to preserve mother earth. God bless him and the team. - P. Siluvainathan, Registrar, IGNTU, Amarkantak

There are not many things that can make chocolate any more enjoyable than it already is, but Hill Wild takes its handmade chocolate up a notch by showcasing the little known products of the hills.

This combination of sweet chocolate with juicy bursts of plump, rum-soaked raisins makes this one unputdownable bar. Makes a unique gift for the discerning chocolate lover in your life.