Indian state West Bengal (WB) is all set to submit a memorandum to the Center, in a bid to make jute packaging compulsory.
West Bengal Labor Minister Purnendu Bose was quoted by Press Trust of India (PTI) as saying, "Jute packaging norms in grains and sugar have been diluted, while cement has shifted to plastic completely. That is wrong. Jute is an agriculture-based industry, it is a natural fibre and eco-friendly too."
According to the minister, a delegation will submit a memorandum to the Center on the demands shortly, and making jute packaging compulsory will help the industry in WB.
The long, soft, shiny vegetable fiber Jute can be spun into coarse, strong threads and is produced from plants in the genus Corchorus. Jute is the name of the plant or fiber that is used to make burlap, Hessian or gunny cloth.
Said to be one of the affordable natural fibers, Jute is second only to cotton in amount produced and variety of uses of vegetable fibers.
Jute fibers are composed primarily of the plant materials cellulose and lignin and the product falls into the bast fiber category.
Image: West Bengal demands to make jute packaging compulsory. Photo: courtesy of TCJ2020 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
