Help Us Green

Works towards preserving polluted rivers by collecting flowers from places of worship and recycling them into eco-friendly products such as incense st Read moreicks, organic fertiliser, bio-degradable packaging and bio-leathers. The organisation, everyday collects on an average 7600 kgs waste flowers covered with 97 kgs toxic chemicals (insecticides and pesticides) with an objective of saving the rivers from being polluted. It further aims to enhance its impact by providing employment to local women at its facility and offers fair wage. The organisation creates creative products from the floral waste. • Agarbatti • Incense cones • Incense cones and sticks • Luxury fragnances • Rejuvinating fragnances The concept of sustainability took root when Karan Rastogi, a Warwick Business School (UK) graduate, envisioned a unique approach to make religious practices more sustainable. Witnessing floral waste burdening the Holy Ganges, the organisation’s founder embarked on a quest to research eco-friendly processes for repurposing waste. This journey gave birth to HelpUsGreen. The inaugural line of 100% organic, handmade biofertilizers marked the commencement of its Green Design venture. Gradually, it expanded into crafting lifestyle products, repurposing monumental temple waste in India, thereby promoting sustainability. What began as a vision in 2015 has blossomed into a self-sustaining social enterprise powered by over 50 dedicated eco-warriors. Presently, by 2021, it collects and transforms over 2.5 tonnes of floral waste daily into lifestyle products, including aromatic sticks, organic fertilizers, and festive items. During the pandemic, it directly procured flowers from farmers who lack market access. In collaboration with the governments of Uttarakhand and Karnataka, it facilitates online training for farmers on sustainable agricultural practices, empowering them to generate income by creating products like incense sticks, dyes, and herbal Holi colours. During the COVID crisis, HelpUsGreen resiliently partnered with one of India's major incense manufacturers, ZedBlack. Leveraging ZedBlack's extensive network of 36 company-operated depots and distribution to over 7,50,000 retail outlets via 3300 distributors, HelpUsGreen's sustainable concept integrates into a larger audience. ZedBlack's substantial range of Agarabatti & Dhoopbatti products—comprising over 1200 SKUs and exporting to 29 countries—aligns with HelpUsGreen's mission to make religious practices sustainable. HelpUsGreen nurtures eco-warriors dedicated to reshaping perceptions about floral waste. Throughout the pandemic, it broadened its sourcing, collecting flowers not just from religious sites but also from weddings, political rallies, and notably, the farmers—a driving force of the Indian economy. HelpUsGreen endeavours to become a pioneering, ethical, and environmentally-conscious company committed to offering products that support nature and its inhabitants. Its mission is to promote accessible, sustainable, and ethical consumerism, dissuading the community from investing in products that contribute to pollution. It strives to champion social, environmental, and economic justice, aiming to establish an equitable, green, and flourishing circular economy. HelpUsGreen designs prioritizes the environment by integrating clean technology and embracing the cradle-to-cradle philosophy, thereby minimizing waste across the products' life cycles. Instead of adding to landfills, it actively works to counterbalance them. Furthermore, it advocates for product stewardship, encouraging everyone involved to assume responsibility for reducing the environmental impact of the product at every stage. Its operations strictly adhere to precautionary and preventive principles, anticipating and preventing waste throughout the processes.