Bagging applause

Nita Mishra, Priti Rao and Amrita Gupta. The first a researcher on women and environment and the other two trained Montessori teachers. The three got together to form Ecofem Crafts after seeing the continued use of plastic bags by people and the expensive thick paper bags being used by some upmarket stores which amounts to cutting down more trees.

`Eco' referred to our immediate concern of maintaining the ecological balance and `fem' our efforts to provide income- generating opportunities to poor women, says Nita. They began by making newspaper bags. Newspapers are environment-friendly as they are recyclable, she adds.

They mobilised friends and relatives to donate newspapers and cardboard boxes and Pidilite Industries to supply fevicol free initially. They tried different methods and finally decided on the fastest and easiest way to make these bags. The poor women who made the bags were given the money generated from its sales.

Depending on the nature of the order, sometimes the bags are painted. Among the three sizes, it's the smallest that is much in demand as it is used by many shopkeepers. Marketing is a tough job, says Nita, who is continuing the work along with Hema Sundaram after Priti and Amrita left Chennai. ``Most of the big shops were initially quite reluctant to use newspaper bags as they thought it would mar their image. Our first customers were Cane and Bamboo, Jus' Kidding, Indian Crafts and Levi Store at the Spencer Plaza, Prisha at Alsa Mall and Econut in Kodaikanal.

Fabindia has been providing our women a sustainable source of income with its non-stop support.

One of our greatest moments was the Diwali order from Lakme last year. More recently, we have managed to convince a five star hotel to use these bags instead of plastic''.

Expansion of this business is a challenging task as the problems are many. These bags cannot carry heavy and moist things. Many people also feel they don't look savvy and are costlier than plastic bags.

But people need to realise the damage plastic is doing to the environment. If not a newspaper bag, at least use a jute or a cloth bag, advises Nita.

Ecofem Crafts has been conducting training in newspaper bag- making in institutes like SCARF, Madhuram Narayanan Centre and other centres for women. It is planning to rope in corporate support for its successful existence.

V. R. DEVIKA

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