This festive season if you buy kidswear from a clothing brand called Khudey, remember you have contributed to the smiles of some underprivileged little ones and their mothers.
Tanuz Vocational Training Society, an NGO, launched this clothing line for kids in February.
A group of women, some of whom were earlier ragpickers, are designing and stitching these clothes and their children are modelling for them.
The women get a weekly payment and the money earned from the sales is reinvested in the NGO for the children.
“Children from financially-deprived families are part of society. They look equally adorable in these kidswear,” said Arpita Chakraborty, a government school teacher and one of those behind the initiative.
When launched was “Khudey: the little one”, they did not know whether they would be able to generate sales.
But as months progressed, things looked up.
While the children were groomed for modelling, the women learnt how to stitch, print and do embroidery.
The women in Tangra do embroidery and printing while another group in Barasat, North 24-Parganas, do the stitching.
“In the run-up to Durga Puja, the sales are looking up. We have been to other cities like Siliguri, where the sale was good,” said Chakraborty.