Uth Oye Shirts: Wear Sarcasm on Your Sleeve

November 13, 2009

Finally…desi statement tees that have punch!

Saba Imtiaz
Karachi

TShirt_DontjealousSet to make its way into must-buy lists everywhere is the new range of t-shirts by Uth Oye!, a social enterprise that gives 50  percent of its profit to charity. And while this year alone has seen the launch of several Pakistan-themed t-shirt lines, Uth Oye! has raised the bar simply for the bravado of the design alone. Instep Today speaks to Babar Rashid Khan from the Uth Oye! team about the enterprise…

Instep Today: How did the idea for the Uth Oye! t-shirts come about?

Babar Rashid Khan: The idea for Uth Oye! was like a puppy that follows you home and just sits at your door, looking at you with sheepish puppy dog eyes. I’d try to shoo it away and it would come back stronger two days later. Being a creative by profession made it really hard to ignore the idea – it would stand at my office desk and mock me for working on ad campaigns with the standard happy go-lucky family pointing at something in the horizon.

Tshirt_Natasha-FaraazInitially, I worked on a business model that gave away 100 per cent of its profits to charity. Very quickly a close friend of mine pointed out how “unsustainable” it was. He also pointed out that I was a complete dunce at math. So we gave it another go, reworked some of the math and came up with a feasible structure.

I now own an abacus.

Instep Today: Who is involved in the project? Who is responsible for the design?

BRK: Uth Oye! is a team of six people, who come from completely different walks of life. Shahnawaz directs all our operations while Annas, Faraaz and Taimoor are just absolute wizards when it comes to the promotion, business structuring and consumer end of things. Nida and I handle the design/creative aspect.

Instep Today: What was the idea behind the ad campaign that features VJs and musicians etc?

BRK: The campaign itself was designed as an antithesis to the standard “Look I’m a model so I must pout – Bow down to my greatness, mere mortal” campaigns that are prevalent in the apparel industry nowadays.

Every celebrity featured wanted to do something that helped Pakistan – so it was a natural pairing. We struck goofy poses, had a lot of fun and got some great shots in the process.

Instep Today: Everyone’s tried doing Pakistan-themed t-shirts, with slogans ranging from saccharine patriotism to cynical statements. What makes Uth Oye! different?

Tshirt_PetrolBRK: It’s how we view it. We hate to think of Uth Oye! as a t-shirt label because to us, it’s a social campaign predicated on the idea that each individual can make a difference to their society. To us, 50 percent to charity isn’t a marketing gimmick – it’s a notion that we’ve legally incorporated in our business agreements and bylaws internally as well.

Instep Today: Currently the t-shirts are available only via the website (www.uth-oye.com). Online shopping hasn’t caught on here – do you plan to have the t-shirts available at retailers?

BRK: They are primarily available online – for now – but we’re in the process of finalizing stocking agreements with various stores nationwide. We are stocking at Studio S and PFDC a week after our launch and we’re winding up negotiations with three other stores.

As far as the online aspect is concerned, it isn’t e-commerce in the strictest sense because there are no financial transactions. Our website acts as an “intent to buy” portal – a potential buyer has to click on the item they like and provide us with their contact details. We then contact them offline, confirm their order and give them the option of paying cash on delivery upon receipt of the product.

Uth Oye! t-shirts are being exhibited at The Forum in Karachi on November 13 (today).

Source: Instep Today