How can Jute save the World Environment?

The recent cyclones and flooding around the world  are leading to
consideration of bans on plastic bags out of environmental concerns and although this
does not automatically favor jute, it does offer an opportunity for the fibre. The
‘green’ credentials of jute bags and fabrics are excellent. There is rapidly growing
world wide awareness of environmental problems and of the need for sustainable
development. The use of plastics in packaging and in man-made fibre textiles, are
increasingly seen as part of the problem and not as part of the solution.
There is very little that can be done in the face of replacing jute sacks through bulk
handling except perhaps to focus on part of the distribution chain where sacks are
more useful. Aggressive lobbying and publicity in favor of jute growers has been
suggested as one means of raising public awareness of the replacement of jute sacks
by bulk handling in the Cocoa and coffee trades. So far there has been little resolve by
the jute industry be more confrontational on this issue.

Jute sacking has traditionally been simply offered for sale rather than marketed in
export markets. This leads to miss opportunities. An example is provided by the
recent floods in New Orleans in the USA following the hurricane Katrina in 2005
where large plastic sand bags were used to try to patch up the break in the levy while
jute sacks may well have been technically more effective. Similarly, when plastic
sacks are dropped by air in regions suffering acute food shortage, they burst far more
easily than jute sacks, yet there is no attempt to promote jute for these applications. In
an emergency, much is determined by rapid availability and this issue has to be
addressed.

The consumer market is a somewhat easier target as buyers of carpets or shopping
bags are increasingly prepared to pay a small premium for eco-friendly and recyclable
goods. We as Jute Product producers have a commitment to the world environment.
We have to produce more and more biodegradable and environment friendly jute bags
and make them cheaper and popular so that our environment can be protected.