Brands
Body Shop campaigns to protect endangered Indian elephant
MUMBAI: The Body Shop announced its latest CSR initiative for the Indian market, of commencing its Bio-Bridge project in Garo Hills, Meghalaya, India. It has pledged to help protect the endangered Indian Elephant and Western Hoolock Gibbon by constructing the Bio-Bridge with every transaction during a three month-long campaign.
Bio-Bridges aim to address the problem of habitat fragmentation by protecting and regenerating corridors between healthy forest, linking isolated and endangered animals and plant species. This allows animals to travel more widely in search of mates and helps them thrive.
The Body Shop India brand ambassador Jacqueline Fernandez said: “It’s very encouraging to see a beauty brand taking a lead in wildlife conservation and community development.”
The Body Shop India COO Shriti Malhotra said, “We are very happy that Garo Hills has been selected as one of the project locations for The Body Shop international Bio-Bridge programme. Having a project in India is a great platform not only to benefit the Garo Hills Biodiversity but also to raise consumer awareness.”
Wild Life Trust of India joint director and head – Wild Lands Sunil Kyarong says, “The Garo Green Spine is critical in North East India supporting about a 1000 elephants connecting two treasure houses of biodiversity – the Nokrek and the Balphakram National Park. The campaign will go a long way in helping WTI and WLT to protect the Canopies, Corridors and Catchments of Garo Green Spine for enhancing the survival prospects of wildlife in the region.”
Brands
Godrej clarifies ‘GI’ identifier after logo similarity debate
Says GI is not a logo, will not replace Godrej signature across products.
MUMBAI: In a branding storm where shapes did the talking, Godrej is now spelling things out. Godrej Industries Group (GIG) has issued a clarification on its newly introduced ‘GI’ identifier, addressing questions around its purpose and design following a wave of online criticism. At the centre of the debate were two concerns: whether the new mark replaces the long-standing Godrej logo, and whether its geometric design mirrors other corporate identities.
The company has drawn a clear line. The Godrej signature logo, it said, remains unchanged and continues to be the sole logo across all consumer-facing products and services. The ‘GI’ mark, by contrast, is not a logo but a corporate group identifier intended for use alongside the Godrej signature or company name, and aimed at stakeholders such as investors, media and talent rather than consumers.
The need for such a distinction stems from the 2024 restructuring of the broader Godrej Group into two separate business entities. With both continuing to operate under the same Godrej name and signature, the identifier is positioned as a way to differentiate the Godrej Industries Group at a corporate level.
The rollout, however, triggered a broader conversation on design originality. Critics pointed to similarities between the GI mark’s geometric composition and logos used by companies globally, raising questions about distinctiveness.
Responding to this, GIG said its intellectual property and legal review found that such overlaps are common in minimalist, geometry-led design systems. Basic forms such as circles and rectangles appear across dozens of brand identities worldwide, the company noted.
It added that the identifier emerged from an extensive design process and was chosen for its simplicity, allowing it to sit alongside the Godrej signature without competing visually. While acknowledging that elemental shapes may appear less distinctive in isolation, the group emphasised that the mark is part of a broader identity system that includes a custom typeface, sonic branding and other proprietary elements.
Following legal and ethical assessments, the company said it found no impediment to using the identifier, reiterating that the GI mark is a corporate tool not a consumer-facing symbol.
In short, the logo isn’t changing but the conversation around it certainly has.
