After years of reckless use of plastic, government after government is waking up to ban the polymer from the face of the earth. But that's virtually impossible. Once plastic is born, it stays unvanquished, invincible, indestructible, till Kingdom Come. No wonder more and more Green organisations, NGOs, environmentalists and concerned individuals are putting their heads together to come up with a solution that would save the earth from sure `plasticisation'.

Sabha, a Bangalore-based NGO set up with Action Enterprise that `supports sustainable livelihood systems through microenterprise for the poor', has come up with one such simple, cost-effective answer: Creating and spreading the use of used paper bags.

indiamarkets spoke to Diana Vincent, merchandiser with Sabha, and came back reassured that it is not just a mere plan on paper, but a practically-thought out strategy for the future.

indiamarkets: How and when did the idea of creating such paper bags germinate? Has it got to do with the recent ban by the Bangalore City Corporation on the use of plastic?
Diana: No, the ban is incidental. The concept was born a few months earlier and we also commissioned a market research by two management students with the help of Maya, another NGO, to guage the response to the use of paper bags. But the feedback was pretty negative, in fact, it would be safe to say that there was no response at all.
We then started using the paper bags which looked smart and nice. Then people started sitting up and taking notice. It was then that we began making such bags for others too. Of course, the ban helped generate more interest on this issue. So we have just chanced on the right market at the right time. Thanks to the social concern now, the concept has got a good response.

indiamarkets: Who makes these bags and how? Are you trying to make a statement via these bags?
Diana: We have a cluster of women from poor families who are into this venture; it's simple, just take old newspapers and fashion them into bags of various sizes, using even reinforcements for bags which would be needed for heavier items. Actually, we have kept these five points in mind while commissioning the use of these paper bags:

• Though environment is an issue, this venture is not just about being eco-friendly.
• It should also result in empowerment as well as income generation for women.
• It should help do away completely with child labour; in other words, children should nowhere be involved in the making of these bags.
• The process should facilitate more NGOs to work with women after formulating a definite plan.
• Our modus operandi should sustain all the above four stages.

indiamarkets: What are the problems you visualise, both intrinsic and external to the process?
Diana: As I mentioned earlier, there is a danger that kids drop out of school to help their moms make more and more paper bags as it would prove very lucrative for their families. For instance, a woman may make something like Rs 100 a day, depending on the number of bags she is able to create. That makes for a cool Rs 3000 a month, so the urge to have more hands to work up more volume and that much more money is obvious. That would totally ruin the social environment. We want to avoid this at any cost; on the other hand, we would want to support their education with some of the proceeds.
The other need is that we also have to be market-savvy to sustain our agenda. There is this huge hype built around eco-consciousness but when it comes to the market, money is the real issue.

indiamarkets: I was just coming to it. Don't you think that the use of paper bags would be restricted to being a mere elitist fad? The big guys may probably go for it, but the ordinary shopkeeper would rather pay a smaller sum for a bigger number of  `hassle-free' plastic covers that he can keep handing out to his customers? How do you then plan to change the scene?
Diana: Yes, it is true that right now, it is not very affordable. In fact, even big names would think twice about it. For instance, there was this huge book shop on MG Road (one of Bangalore's upmarket shopping centres) where I walked into with this paper bag. I just casually kept it there while paying the bill when the owner asked me where I had got it from. I told him, "We make it. You want them." He was impressed, but when he heard the price (Rs 2 per bag), he shoved one plastic bag and said, "I get this for 50 paise each in bulk. Can you beat this?" To which my answer was: "Being a big name, you can afford to attach your name with something that has a social cause attached to it." Most of the times, it is like this, you have to create an awareness first of all and then put the guilt into the guy.
One can bring down the costs if people volunteer to donate paper for this cause. If I don't have to buy paper, then I will have to charge you only the production and the labour cost.

indiamarkets: That brings us to another point. How reliable are these bags? How can paper bags sustain weight, rains, wear and tear?
Diana: These bags are made quite sturdy. See, something as big as this (shows a 14 inch by 20 inch bag), which we call the Big Bag, can hold weight equalling two telephone directories. But yes, moisture of any kind is a big threat. We are trying to make bags reinforced with jute, but that would not only increase the prices, but also use up paper as well as jute. The idea is to use up something that would have otherwise gone waste. That's why, I find the use of bags made of brown paper and handmade paper, meaningless. What is the point if you have to cut down a tree when you are thinking of means to conserve ecology by banning plastic?
We are doing more research on water-proofing these bags, but nothing concrete has come up.

indiamarkets: Who are your target users and how do you plan to customise the bags accordingly?
Diana: Our targets are: The public in general; the retail market including gift shops etc; grocery shops and hotels, though not necessarily in that order. Apart from the innovations I spoke of above, we plan to customise the bags according to the specific needs. We might print the name of the retail outlet on the bags or their brand logo on request. For laundry bags for the use of hotels, we plan to make paper bags coated inside with butter paper. Incidentally, we also plan to put a seal of 'No child labour involved' on every bag.
It is true that initially, only the so-called elites may warm up to the idea because it does their image good to be seen as supporting an eco-friendly venture, but that would be a good beginning alright.