Thiruvananthapuram: It is going to be a year since the plastic carry bag ban came into effect in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, but it has made little difference to the sale of cloth bag, says members of a small scale bag manufacturing unit. Kalliyoor Karunya Kudumbashree Unit might just be the representative voice of many such small scale units. For bag manufacturers say that it is not easy for small units to compete with bigger units, capable of selling bags at competitive rates. Zafar Ameer, who owns a relatively larger unit, says,
“Some have been supplying bags made in Tamil Nadu. The larger units can afford to buy cloth from Erode or Thirupathi in bulk, as they have large orders. This would bring the cost down. A small-scale unit might be locally sourcing their material.” He says that the Corporation had considered buying 10,000 or 20,000 kilograms of cloth from Erode, to help out the small scale units. However, officials at the Corporation say that no such project is on the cards. It is not practical to handhold small-scale units, they say.
The larger units have benefited from the ban, he says. “The number of manufacturers have increased. There are around a 100 manufacturers in Thiruvananthapuram,” he says. Another issue small-scale bag makers face is that they don’t have retail outlets to sell bags. The Karunya unit members tried going to a few shops, and were disappointed when the shopkeepers were not ready to take the bags. “Our single layer bags cost from Rs 5 to Rs 25.
Shopkeepers were not interested because of the cost. Fortunately, we get to set up stalls when there are government events. We also take orders. When there is a large order, we buy material from Nagercoil. But the problem is no one knows about us,” says the unit’s secretary, Suni T. The Corporation has not arranged for a registration mechanism for bag manufacturers, so that shop owners can access a list of bag manufacturers. Another idea to support small scale bag makers is to train them in making other ecofriendly products which go into a conference kit. Zafar says they have been supporting some small units, by giving them orders for making paper pens, cardboard ID cards and other products which have not been mechanised.
