Not only the products the company also doesn’t involve machines that can be hazardous for the environment.
The fad of fancy masks had hit the markets during the first wave of COVID-19 itself, leaving us with countless options to choose from. While there are so many options to choose from, with ignorance of environmental hazards, surgical masks bring some trouble with them. However, a company based out of Karnataka is spinning something fruitful out of this crisis.
Nithin Vas, the founder of Paper Seed Co, a social enterprise that provides eco-friendly alternatives to pencils, paper, and pen, has come up with a new product which are masks that grows into a full-fledged plant when sown after use.
The masks are stitched out of the shreds of cotton collected from the garment industry. Vas explains that the outer cover of these masks is made from the cotton pulp after utilising various scrap materials collected from the garment industry, while the inner linings are made from soft cotton cloth. The eco-friendly masks are thick enough and effective to prevent infection.
The company has been running since 2017, and since the dawn of the pandemic, they started ideating about these eco-friendly masks. Vas explains that the fate of the surgical masks is resulting in landfills and is a major threat to the marine plant and wildlife.
Not only the products are aimed at protecting the environment, but the company also doesn’t involve machines that can be hazardous for the environment. However, this limits the production of masks that they can roll out.
The masks are priced at Rs 25 and are for one-time usage only. Definitely not cheaper than its counterpart, but the price justifies the labour that goes into making them.
Vas says his vision comes from the Gandhian philosophy of the Swadeshi movement. He wants to take forward this company to not just reap profits but to find alternatives for ecological problems. The motive is to train the locals and harness the talented youths.
The company is as of now just engaging with local clients and intakes smaller orders of up to 3,000 masks. This decision is to avoid the wastage of masks if they cannot deliver them on time. Last year, because of the pandemic, they had to discard a massive batch of paper seeds owing to their short shelf-life.
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