Bagging to Differ

Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

In February 2011,the ministry notified that plastic bags should not be under 40 microns thick and should not be issued free of cost to customers,in an effort to curb the haphazard use of plastic. As the months have gone by,Mumbai has seen various interpretations of this directive. Several retailers have embraced the order with enthusiasm,by switching to paper bags and attractive cloth and jute bags,while others charge Rs 1 to Rs 10 for a plastic bag. However,some places,such as FabIndia,OMO (On My Own),Cottons and Cottonworld,have been doing their bit to cut down the use of polybags for quite some time now.

FabIndia packs the customers’ newest acquisitions in a paper bag with their logo. So do Nike and Reebok. At Anokhi,though,smaller purchases are bundled in a paper bag,quilts in a large cloth bag and jewellery in delicate cloth potlis,made from rejected or leftover cloth in the shop. OMO in Bandra,makes paper bags out of old newspapers which has been appreciated by its

patrons for a long time. Owner Aarti Shantakumar points out that it made a lot of sense for them to use recyclable

paper bags and do their “bit for

the environment”.

The bags for OMO are made by the Mumbai-based NGO called Saathi,which works on income generation programmes for the financially-challenged youth. Altaf Shaikh,its founder member,says,“We have different units of young boys and girls,who live on the street,working for us. In fact,we encourage these units to become independent. For instance,the unit of young boys (in the age group of 18-21) that makes the recyclable paper bags for OMO was called Saathi Kria,but it will now work on its own under the name Kria,” he explains and admits that the demand for

these bags has gone up after the

government directive.

Designer Anita Dongre notes that they use cloth bags in their AND stores. “Apart from this,we print civic awareness messages — including ‘say no to plastic bags — on the back of our price tags,” she says. Stores such as Cottons and Cottonworld also give recyclable cloth bags to their customers. Lavin Lekhraj,a partner at Cottonworld,says,“We have been buying our cloth bags from the organisation CRY; this way,we are being eco-friendly and support a good cause.”

The Retailers Association of India (RAI),a body that has more than 700 members all over the country,including popular brands like Shopper’s Stop,Westside and Food Bazaar,has an encouraging story to tell. Kumar Rajagopalan,CEO,RAI,says,“Many of the retailers have enforced a “carry your own bag” motto while others have switched to paper or cloth bags.”

According to their survey,there has been a 55 per cent drop in the use of plastic bags since the retailers have started charging for them. “When customers

realise that they will have to pay for these bags in the future,they will store them,” Rajagopalan says,adding that according to their survey,65 per cent of the customers are happy with the MoEF’s order and the retailers’ enthusiasm.