How this 26-year-old's scrunchie brand, set up during the lockdown, is helping feed the homeless in Chennai

Every woman, hell, men too would agree that 2020 was the year of a global pandemic, a worldwide lockdown and wildly-grown hair. With salons and even local barbershops closed throughout 2020, people ended up starting social media trends with hashtags like #lockdownhairgoals and #nohaircut and sported messy, uncontrolled and unkempt hair. Sarthika Singha, a 26-year-old fashion designer from Nashik, was no stranger to such woes. But instead of sitting and brooding over her problems, she decided to do something about it - she created her own brand of scrunchies, GoGo Scrunchies. Set up in May 2020, Sarthika creates scrunchies that are hand-sewn, keeping zero-waste in mind, and using quality but upcycled fabric easily available at home. However, the 26-year-old didn't want to stop at that. She partnered with Chennai-based organisation Feed of Love to contribute 50 per cent of her start-up's earnings towards feeding the homeless.

GoGo is run by a one-woman army - Sarthika - who sources the fabric, customises it as per the customer's needs, stitches it at home and also handles the social media accounts for her brand. GoGo started when Sarthika created a scrunchie with some leftover fabric and elastic to manage her messy hair and posted it on her own Instagram page. "I got numerous messages from people about it. They all wanted me to make more of these. So, it started with a few friends and family members who wanted scrunchies made for themselves. Whatever fabric I had at home, what I had collected over the years to make clothes or other things, I used to make the scrunchies," shares Sarthika.

For the 26-year-old, it was never a profit-making venture but a hobby project that soon turned into something more meaningful. "I wanted to do something for people who are suffering out there and don't have the privilege to sit at home and enjoy themselves while the world is suffering a pandemic. I didn't expect GoGo to last after the lockdown but surprisingly, people have wanted me to continue. I didn't want to contact an organisation I didn't personally know, I wanted complete transparency in terms of the money actually being used for the underprivileged. Feed of Love is run by a couple who I personally know for almost a decade now. They agreed at once when they heard about my start-up. Every month, I transfer 50 per cent of the total earnings from the previous month. Once they receive the money and use it for the NGO's functioning, they ensure that they tag me in the posts, let me know about the drives they conduct and where the money is being used. They conduct several drives like collecting toys for underprivileged children, blanket drives for street dwellers and more. I am extremely grateful that such a small creation is actually making a big difference in the lives of people in need," explains Sarthika.

Sarthika, a fashion designer currently based out of Nashik, graduated from NIFT, Chennai in 2016. She has worked with fashion houses and brands as well-known as MissMalini, FCUK and Fruit of the Loom, and styled several celebrities. "I wanted to start my own clothing brand but couldn't do so because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I came back home and wanted to work on that plan. But life had other plans and I am glad GoGo was born at this point," adds Sarthika. She is currently working on a website for her brand and also has plans to start GoGo Men.