Karnataka: Eco-friendly tricolor that grows into plants for this I-day

MANGALURU: A swadeshi organisation of Mangaluru has commenced a campaign to make this Independence Day eco-friendly. Paperseed, a swadeshi social entrepreneurs group, has launched their eco-friendly tricolor and badges that can be used as seeds that grow into plants after the celebrations.
Members of the Paperseed have been making eco-friendly flags and badges using paper pulp and seeds of various plants, said Paperseed founder Nitin Vas.“We have been making flags and badges to be used for this Independence Day. We already have our own clientele created through various social media platforms. Most of them are NGOs and other organisations working for the environment and other related issues. We have already received orders for hundreds of eco-friendly flags and badges from various parts of the state. Our volunteers have been making the flags and badges using paper pulp and seeds,” he said adding that it takes one day to dry the flags and badges.
Seeds of passion fruits have been mixed with the pulp, which we manufacture using old newspapers. We have chosen passion fruit for the eco-friendly flags and badges since it is rich in nutrition and it has several health benefits. Seeds of passion fruits are brought from Kerala. After the Independence Day celebrations, people may dispose of the flags and badges in flower pots or in the soil so that it will grow as plants, he said.
"After flag and badges are dried, colouring is done by volunteers. We have attached pins to flags and badges so that it can be hooked to a shirt and other dresses. While the rate of eco-friendly flags is Rs 5, badges are priced at Rs 15. The main idea of promoting eco-friendly flags and badges is to eradicate plastic. Though the Independence celebration will be a low-key event this year due to the pandemic, plastic materials are still available in the market. These eco-friendly flags and badges can be replaced with the plastic items as an ideal alternative. Further, this will encourage people to join the environment movement, he said adding that the organisation had earlier introduced paperseed Ganeshas for Chaturthi and similar eco-friendly rakhis for Raksha bhandan.