Instead of Eminem t-shirts why not sport one supporting a cause for autism. Rather than Levi, UCB or Reebok, why not buy one locally from Cachapa — that would be your contribution to society. This was the aim with which Sundeep Hiremat and Kinjal Bannerjee started Cachapa, an organisation to support social causes through merchandising. They are now the talk of the town and have collected more that `25,000 for charity.

A tedious desk job, which he quit after seven years, Sundeep decided that he wanted to do something that would challenge him on a daily basis. “Working with an IT company proved to be quite taxing and I quit one fine day. After experimenting and exploring my options I began volunteering,” exclaims Sundeep.

Understanding the drawbacks that NGOs and the volunteer sector faces, he formulated a plan that could make it easier for youngsters to contribute. “When I began to talk to my friends about the benefits of social causes, they usually seemed very interested or sceptical. They either did not trust if their donation would be put into good use or did not have the time to invest in. That’s when I came up with Cachapa,” reveals Sundeep.

Cachapa manufactures merchandises which are linked to various charity organisations, their recent one being autism awareness for Asha Foundation in Indiranagar. “It was more about creating a platform where both the volunteer and the NGOs profited. We wanted to crowd source the idea and now we have made good revenue for a few organisations in the city,” says Kinjal Baneerjee.

The t-shirts come in funky colours, each sporting a social message and priced at `399. How do they differ from other charity merchandising companies, we ask “There is transparency which is maintained in each purchase that one has made — every little detail is maintained on the website.

The impact that the t-shirts generate comes as feedbacks from each organisation and that gives the buyer trust to come back for more,” effuses Kinjal. Speaking about Bengaluru’s response, “It has been amazing as we have already generated quite a significant amount of funds. We are meeting up with various organisations and doing conferences and trying to involve the corporate sector too,” they share.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Lifestyle> Fashion-Beauty / DC / by Nuvena Rajendran / February 24th, 2014