GamlaBazaar began with a small frustration: you can buy a plant almost anywhere in India, and it will arrive in a plastic pot, wrapped in plastic, with a sachet of chemical fertiliser taped to the side. The plant is green. Everything around it is not.
We sell plants, pots, soil and fertiliser with the plastic taken out and the chemistry left honest. That is the whole idea.
What we actually promise
1. Plastic-free packaging, with no asterisk
Every order ships in recycled kraft board, moulded paper pulp and paper tape. No bubble wrap, no plastic fill, no shrink film. Plants travel in biodegradable coir pots, braced with shredded paper.
2. Peat-free, always
Most imported potting mixes are built on peat moss, which is dug out of wetlands that took thousands of years to form and store enormous amounts of carbon. We do not sell peat in any form. Our growing media are coir-based — a by-product of the coconut industry that would otherwise be burnt.
3. No synthetic fertiliser
Our fertiliser range is vermicompost, neem cake, bone meal and cocopeat. Slower than a blue chemical powder, and better for the soil life that actually keeps a plant healthy.
4. Sourced from growers, not distributors
Plants come from organic nurseries. Terracotta is thrown by potter families in Khurja, Uttar Pradesh. We would rather pay a grower directly and charge a little more than route everything through a warehouse.
What we do not promise
We are not carbon neutral and we do not claim to be. Shipping a plant across India has a footprint, and offsetting it with a certificate would be marketing, not action. What we can control — packaging, growing media, chemicals, sourcing — we control tightly. What we cannot, we are honest about.
Who we sell to
- First-time plant parents who want something that will survive them
- Apartment and balcony gardeners working with small, low-light spaces
- People buying a gift that is not another candle
- Companies looking for corporate gifting that does not end up in a bin
A note on this website
GamlaBazaar is an academic project built for a Digital Marketing course at IIT Delhi. It is not a trading business and no orders are fulfilled. Please read the full project disclaimer.