It has been more than one year since COVID-19 has disrupted the world. Masks have become instrumental to save from this deadly pandemic, and companies are still coming up with different innovations in masks.
Paper Seed Co., a Karnataka-based social enterprise, is producing such environment-friendly masks that grow into a full-fledged plant when sown after use. Notably, the company also doesn’t involve machines that can be hazardous for the environment.
Nithin Vas, the founder of the organisation, says, “The masks are stitched out of the shreds of cotton collected from the apparel industry. The outer cover of these masks is made from the cotton pulp after utilising various scrap materials collected from the apparel factories, while the inner linings are made from soft cotton cloth. The eco-friendly masks are thick and effective to prevent infection.”
The masks are priced at Rs. 25 and are for one-time usage only. The price justifies the labour that goes into making them.
Nithin has been taking forward this company to not just reap profits, but also to find alternatives for ecological problems – the motive is to train the locals and harness the talented youths.
Currently, Paper Seed Co. engages with local clients and intakes smaller orders of up to 3,000 masks to avoid wastage of masks in case they fail to deliver them on time.
Such initiatives need more focus as fate of surgical masks is resulting in landfills and is turning out to be a major threat to the marine plant and wildlife.
