Designing a better world

VADODARA, Sept 30: There are no trumpets, no fanfare. Everything about the kick-plastic campaign begun by a section of Vadodara's talente...

VADODARA, Sept 30: There are no trumpets, no fanfare. Everything about the kick-plastic campaign begun by a section of Vadodara8217;s talented designers is low-key, understated. In no way, however, does that reflect on their determination to kick plastic. Or, at least, the plastic bag handed out so unthinkingly by every other boutique and garment store.

Mala and Pradeep Sinha, Nili and Raju Shah and Shilpa Jhaveri are all committed to the environment and convinced about the need to junk plastic in favour of materials more enduring, more environment-friendly.

Each of them has done what many would have dismissed as impossible even a couple of years ago: Disposed with the plastic bag, opting, instead to give their clients the durable cloth bag or even recycled-paper bags. To them, this is a logical extension of their business in close-to-the-earth textiles, printing and designing.

Pradeep and Mala Sinha, the couple behind the Makarpura-based store Bodhi, design and print their own block-printed lengths. They stumbled upon the recycled-paper bag quite by accident. 8220;At the end of a day8217;s work, there8217;s always some dye left over, which usually went down the drain. Then, we got some trainees and, to teach them the art of block-printing, we let them use the blocks with the leftover dye on sheets of newspaper. It produced quite a pretty effect8221;, says Pradeep Sinha.

8220;Then Mala had the brainwave of using these printed newspaper sheets for packing. They became a big hit, and today, we8217;ve made them sturdier by lining them with thin cloth, so that they are good for at least a number of uses.8221; In fact, attached to the bag is a little note specifying the reason why it8217;s a paper bag.

If the Sinhas discovered an eco-friendly option to the plastic bag by chance, for Jhaveri it was a well-thought-out, considered decision. 8220;The thought that plastic was harmful struck me while watching a BBC documentary on the dangers of plastic a couple of years ago. And the point was driven home while I was going through a Childkraft book with my daughter8221;, says Jhaveri, who retails her designs under the Saaz label.

8220;I realised that using plastic was not the environment-friendly thing to do. As it is, we abuse the environment so much; even if a social organisation plants a sapling, the larriwallah who stands near it won8217;t bother to pour a mug of water over it any day. So I decided to do my bit for the environment by giving out cloth bags instead of plastic ones8221;, she adds.

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Dealing as both Jhaveri and the Shahs do in cloth, the alternative was easily available to them. Jhaveri and Sinha, in fact, say their alternate bags struck such a chord that customers have sometimes asked just for the bags!

Incidentally, all three designers find the cloth and/or paper-bags make financial sense. Says Jhaveri, 8220;Initially, I got material specifically for the bags, but this proved expensive. So now I use leftover material to make the bags and I stitch them myself to save on the labour.8221; She also uses colourful appliques that would appeal to children to encourage them to use cloth bags over disposable plastic ones.

Shah, who runs Kanchul, a garment store in Race Course Towers, uses odd bits of cloth on basic white bags to give them an exclusive touch. He says this actually works out cheaper than the plastic bags he was using so long.

While the impetus to switch to materials other than plastic has been different for the three designers in isolation, they have each taken a step towards making the world a better place.