SHGs Race Against Time To Mass-produce Cloth Bags

State women development corporation will soon bring out a catalogue of producers of alternative goods for plastics

Members of over 300 Com­mon Livelihood Groups created by the Tamil Nadu Corporation for Develop­ment of Women (TNCDW) are burning the midnight oil to stitch and provide cloth bags. Each of these groups has at least 30 members who know tailoring and cutting.

Recycling materials

“Even before the ban on plastics began, we started training women in stitching. I told them if not for others at least stitch for yourselves,” said Stella George, a trainer in upcycling and recycling materials including paper and cloth, who also runs a tailoring unit for stitching bags in Tiruvallur. “Used uniform skirts, T­shirts and jeans can be upcycled as bags. Every single piece of cloth, paper or cardboard can be put to other uses,” she explained.