Even as the government has banned single use plastic from July 1, the Indinon Manufacturers Association of Non-wovens, representing spunbound non-woven fabric manufacturers from Gujarat, has said that non-women fabric bags above 60 GSM are recyclable, resuable and an alternative for single use plastic bags.
Suresh Patel, president of the Association, said that currently they are creating awareness among the masses about the non-woven bags as there are misconceptions after the ban on single use plastic.
He said that the government has allowed non-woven bags above 60 GSM, which come in as an alternative for single use plastic. According to him, more or less the price of plastic bags of 75 microns, which is allowed, and 60 GSM non-woven bags comes same, but by the end of the year when the government increases the plastic bags to 125 microns then the non-woven bags would prove cheaper.
Joint secretary of the association Paresh Thakkar said that following the ban on single use plastic, there has been about 10 per cent rise in the inquiries of non-woven bags.
Gujarat is a hub when it comes to manufacturing of non-woven bags, said Hemil Patel, secretary of the association. According to him, out of the 10,000 manufactures who produce non-woven bags in the country, 3,000 are from Gujarat. It provides employment to 2 lac people in the country, out of which 40,000 are from Gujarat.
The office-bearers said that the 60 GSM bags can be used up to 10 times and these have considerable weight bearing capacity, depending on the size of the bags. They said that the non-woven fabric industry has stepped up the production when needed and would do so now as well to ensure that neither the consumers nor the businesses have to face any shortage.
The demand for non-woven fabric had increased multi-fold during Covid-19 as PPE kits and masks were made. Bags is just one of the products that are made out of this material. Sanitary pads and tea bags also have non-woven fabric.
In the non-woven fabric, the fibers are thermally bonded for making the fabric instead of the traditional way of weaving.
Gujarat exports 25 per cent of its production to European and African countries, Middle East and the Gulf. Thakkar said that the annual turnover from the non-woven fabric, manufactured in Gujarat used in packaging, is Rs 36,000 crore.