Reinventing potential of jute, giving new look

Jute may be the second most important vegetable fibre after cotton, in terms of usage, global consumption, production and availability. However, to most people it represents the gunny bag used to store and transport foodgrains.

India is the largest raw jute producing country, with jute industry occupying an important place in the  economy, especially the eastern part of the country. Over the years with the entry of synthetics and plastics, the use of jute has become minimal and this had an impact on those who depended on this fibre for their livelihood. To protect the jute industry, governments have tried to support it by bringing in mandatory packaging order for use of jute to store grains and sugar.  However,  jute continues to struggle and leave a lasting impression.

The first ray of hope appeared on the horizon as the world started to realise the importance of protecting the ecology and increase the use of biodegradable products in daily life. Several countries across the world  began banning use of plastics.

The governments in the country too are beginning to ban use of plastics in many spheres of life and Indians are switching back to the  traditional way of using cloth bags for shopping, be it at the vegetable vendor or in the swanky shopping mall.
However, many of these upwardly mobile Indians are conscious of the look and feel of accessories they carry. Each accessory, be it a mobile or bracelet, a wallet or  a carry bag, everything must reflect their persona.

The key challenge for those in business was to develop eco-friendly but kitsch, designer and functional accessories for people to be able to make them a part of their daily life. It is in this context that National Jute Board, an organisation to promote jute Industry, helped set up a Jute Design Cell for shopping bags and lifestyle accessories at Innovation Centre for Natural Fibre (ICNF) at  the mecca of Indian design, the National Institute of Design (NID).

The ICNF works to develop a number of newer and innovative designs for jute carry bags and lifestyle accessories. “Initially the lab was inspired by banana fibre laboratory in Japan. We began working with banana fibre but we were approached by the Prime Minister's Office that we must work to help take the jute industry into a new orbit and design contemporary product designs for the jute industry to not just survive but also become popular globally,” Pradyumana Vyas, director, NID, says. The NID has been approached by the authorities in Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh. “The authorities in Shimla say that they want to sell jute bags at entry points and toll booths to tourists,” says Prof  Pradhyumana Jhala, a textile expert  and in-charge of natural fibre laboratory at the NID.

Jhala said: “We have been exporting bags but we relooked at them to make them more contemporary. When you work with cotton, silk or wool they are finer fibres and easy to work with. But  jute  is a coarser fibre and heavier in construction. You need heavy-duty machines. We synergised the fibres with cotton or banana fibres. We tapped into technological research institutes in Kolkata and Plasma Research Institute in Gandhinagar to make the material durable,” Jhala says.

The NID made use of plasma technology for printing, which is eco-friendly, on jute bags. This helped improve wash fastness of the product. Blends were also experimented with to improve light fastness and wash fastness, so that the colour would not fade easily.

Other than improving on the product quality, the NID made designs contemporary and unique. It involved both, its faculty of design in textiles and lifestyle accessories, along with design students.

“Young minds  came out with novel ideas. Some mall owners in Bengaluru told us that though they want to use jute bag but it took away lot of storage space compared to synthetic or plastic bag. So we came out with flexible and collapsible bag,” Jhala adds.

The other similar challenge was when the NID began talks with India’s dairy cooperative giant Amul to begin using jute bags at their delivery points. They faced a peculiar issue as jute begins decaying due to humidity. To overcome that the NID and industry experimented with coating of natural rubber so that these bags can be 100% biodegradable. Amul has a large number of outlets across the country and has expressed willingness to replace its current plastic and synthetic takeaway bags with biodegradable jute bags.

The NID says that the new bags would not be impacted by wetness of frozen ice-cream or refrigerated milk, as it would have proper lamination. It could well prove to be a huge step in popularising the jute takeaway bag. However, the NID has not just focused on the utility part of jute. It has also showcased fashionable bags that have found a market in Europe and Japan.

“Fashion bags, synergised with leather to make it attractive, can go as high as US $20 to Euro 20 per bag on a fashion street. In India some of the bags we have helped design are available at up to Rs 2,000, while the utility ones are available at a low of Rs 20 to Rs 25 per bag. We have helped industry develop several other lifestyle accessories, cushion covers, curtains and home interiors. We have tried our hand at changing the decoration of bags by ‘Smoking’, a technique of surface embellishment. When we smoke the surface, it gives a 3D effect and gives fibre the feel of a hand technique,” according to Jhala.

Jhala said that they have even had an interaction with global lifestyle and home décor brand - Ikea – for display and sale of jute products through their outlets. Ikea, is now believed to be mulling over sourcing and selling jute products from India going forward. All these efforts, the NID feels, will help make jute a preferred fibre for not just Indians but also the global citizens.

“This is a golden fibre of the country. It is one of the natural resources and how we can exploit this fibre to bring it to a level so that it is positioned in the world and not only in the country. We want to see them being used on the Bond Street and Times Square of the world and also in Chandni Chowk and Majestic market within our country,” Jhala says.