The roots of Urban Organic

By Tara Sahdev

Arthur Kao approached his friends with a radical idea: to build a business by selling his art on shirts.

"We want to do something in college because this is the perfect time to start," Kao told his friend and co-founder, Joseph Baini, last spring.

The sophomores started with a simple design -- a clenched fist ripping street light-studded roots out of the ground. The image represents the company name, Urban Organic.

Sophomore Ryan Kennedy added, "It's catchy so people will look at the shirt and be like, 'What kind of shirt is that?'"

The company's motto is "Urban in mind and organic at heart."

"Organic" comes from the simple fact that they want to make the company green and good for the community.

Kao and Baini hope to eventually print their designs on organic cotton clothing.

"Urban" represents the inner-city feel of the artwork, as if it were from the graffitied walls of Haight Street, explained Kao.

Baini has a different way of looking at the name.

The original five founders of the company -- now it's only Kao and Baini -- all came from cities, as do a majority of people at Santa Clara, yet all have different roots which they hold close to their heart.

"There is so much more to people than just what you see," said Baini. The shirts are intended to represent who people are and where they come from. Regions featured in their designs include the Bay Area, San Diego, Seattle and possibly more cities, which may be coming out in a few months.

Although they are not planning to officially register their company as a nonprofit, Kao and Baini do plan to give back to the community.

They hope to donate money to inner-city art programs, join forces with clubs such as the community service-focused SCU Rotaract and to plan some of their own community service events.

Before moving on to these projects, however, Kao and Baini will work on expanding their company by publicizing and attempting to reach more people. Though the duo says that they have found themselves struggling to get the word out about their company, so far they have attracted about 100 customers.

"Joe and Arthur are definitely ambitious guys," said Kennedy.

"Arthur's definitely done his homework. They need to start getting more out there so people can start seeing variety, but from what I've seen so far the colors are really vibrant, which is nice."

Urban Organic mostly sells to friends and family, but hopes to expand its clientele.

This is a common problem that small businesses have, said Baini, who has spoken with other clothing companies.

To overcome this obstacle, Kao and Baini have thought of selling their garments to local shops or on the street.

"Our biggest issue is getting a Web site. Everyone goes to the Internet for anything they need," said Baini. The company does have a blog and a Facebook group, but they know that is not enough.

Various fraternities and clubs, such as the Coyote Triathlete Club in San Diego, have requested that Urban Organic make shirts for them. These shirts will feature the Urban Organic logo. Every sale is an opportunity to help the blossoming company with its publicity.

Although they are both glad about the progress of Urban Organic thus far, there is room for improvement.

"I'm happy at where we are, but I'm not satisfied," said Kao. "We need to get bigger. We need to get to more people."

Once they raise more money, Kao and Baini hope to start designing more products such as hats, shoes and jeans.

They are looking for people who have knowledge in women's clothing design or who can sew to help create more variety in their product line.

Shirts are sold for $15 to $20.

Check out Urban Organic's blog at theurbanorganic.blogspot.com.

Contact Tara Sahdev at (408) 551-1918 or tsahdev@scu.edu.