Every day billions of consumers patronize retail businesses all over the world in the never-ending search for products that can help improve the quality of life. Each shopping experience is unique, a fact that can be explained by the variety of stores, products, and preferences in the market. With few exceptions, however, each shopping experience ends the same way; products are placed in a thin polyethylene-plastic carrier bag offered free-of-charge at the checkout counter. In most cases, these bags are taken home by con-sumers, unloaded and thrown into the trash having fulfilled their pur-pose. But now the scenario is changing. Considering the adverse impact of polythene shopping bags, the soci-ety is going towards sustainable products. Many countries have already imposed different kinds of legislation on production and con-sumption of polythene shopping bags and scientists are looking forward for nature oriented carry-ing materials. The jute shopping bags could be an important alter-native of polythene shopping bags. Economic benefit of Jute shop-ping bag over polythene bag There are different types of poly-thene shopping bags exist in the market, such as thinner plastic bags which are also known as High density polythene(HDPE); thicker, boutique style plastic bags

(the Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and jute shopping bags. Choice between Jute shopping bags to reduce plastic bag con-sumption requires an analysis of the true cost and benefit of its implementation. Table 1 illus-trated a clear idea about the eco-nomic benefit of different types of shopping bags. It has been found that the costs of jute bags are always higher than the plastic bags. But one of the important benefits of jute bag is that its reusability. Moreover, Akullian et al (2006) analyzed that for a sin-gle use polythene bag society has to pay around 0.1 cents of social cost for recycling, land filling and littering. Considering these ex-penditure and reusable capacity of jute bags, it is clear that the ultimate economic benefit comes from using jute bags. Potential market of jute shop-ping bags: Considering the impact of poly-thene bag 55 countries of the world have imposed ban or taxes on the use of polythene shop-ping bags. Among them 19 countries have banned fully, 23 countries imposed levies and other 13 countries banned the use of polythene bags in differ-ent cities. These banning coun-tries could be the potential mar-ket of jute shopping bags if proper strategic plan would have

been taken. The countries that imposed regulation on the use of polythene shopping bags are presented in figure 1. The study calculated consump-tion of polythene bags before they were ban in the prohibited countries. Data on reduction of polythene consumption after implementation of legislations were available only from few countries such as China, Den-mark, Ireland, Taiwan and South Africa etc. Miller (2012) analyzed that; the banning countries have reduced the consumption of polythene shopping bags seventy percent, whereas the countries that imposed tax reduced the consumption sixty six percent. These assumptions have been used in the study to find out the present consumption of poly-thene shopping bags in the ban-ning countries. The consumption of polythene shopping bag in different countries is shown in figures 2. Before banning; the consump-tion of polythene bags were around 646.5 billion. While after banning or imposing levy the consumption of polythene bags is still around 165 billion. These polythene shopping bags can be replaced by around 33 billion of jute bags. To find out the country wise demand of jute shopping bags, the present study analysed the import status of jute sacks and shopping bags in the banning countries. The trend of jute sack-ing and bags consumption dur-ing 2008 to 2012 is presented in table 2. Among Eighteen Euro-pean countries six showed an increasing trend in sacking and jute bag consumption namely Netherland, France, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Ireland and Den-mark. On the other hand, Bel-gium and Estonia have shown a

Potential Market of Jute Shopping Bags on Ban/Restriction of Polythene Bags

November, 2013

Volume 1, Issue 12

Feature Page

Potential market of jute shopping bags on ban/restriction of polythene bags

1 & 2

IJSG news 03

Jute news 03

Natural fibre news 04

Plastic news 04

Upcoming International events

04

Upcoming IJSG events 04

New Associate Members 04

Environment news 04

Issue Highlights

Wipe your carbon footprints with JUTE Page 1

Table-1: Major benefits of Contract Farming

Bag Type Weight (g) Capacity (Litres)

Reusabil-ity

Cost USD

HDPE bag 7.5-12.6 17.9-21.8 1 0.02-0.03

LDPE bag 35-60 21.52 1-5 0.153-.158

Jute bag 180-240 15-20 - -

Jute bag (35 cm X 26 cm)

55.9 g 3 Kg 5 0.202

Jute bag (33cm X 40 cm)

73.8 g 5 Kg 5 0.236

Jute bag (50 cm X 38 cm)

93.3 g 10 Kg 5 0.325

A monthly publication by IJSG

Jute Matters November 2013

Wipe your carbon footprints with JUTE Page 2

decreasing trend. The consump-tion remains constant in Ger-many and Sweden (Table 2). Italy has totally restricted the use of polythene shopping bags from the year 2013. So, there could be a potential market of jute shop-ping bags. Database of import jute sacking and shopping bags were available of five countries among ten that restricted the use of polythene bags. Pattern of jute shopping bags importing in these countries

showed an increasing trend ex-cept for Mauritania (table 2). Though there is no nationwide legislation regarding the use of polythene shopping bags in the United States, a good number of cities and states imposed their own legislation to overcome the problem of litter. The sacking and shopping bag consumption in United States also showed an increasing trend during the pe-riod of 2008 to 2012. The ban-ning states of USA such as

Alaska, San Francisco, California, and some other cities could be a potential market of jute shopping bags. Twelve countries from Asia have imposed restriction on the con-sumption of polythene shopping bags. Of which nationwide policy imposed on Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, Hongkong, Israel and Vietnam. Import statistics of Jute sacking and shopping bag showed and decreasing trend during 2008 to 2012 in Oman, Hongkong and Israel. On the other hand, con-sumption of jute sacks and bags in Chile showed an increasing trend. Moreover, United Arab Emirates has restricted ban from the year 2013. So, the exporters of jute shopping bag have potential market in those countries. Country wise Demand of Jute Shopping Bag The import of jute sacks and bags was critically reviewed against the potential demand of jute bags in every country. The analysis of this trend suggested that Rwanda, Tanzania, Denmark, Ireland, Ger-many, Netherlands, Bulgaria, South Africa, France and USA are some of the most potential coun-tries for jute shopping bag con-sumption. However, some other countries like Italy, Philipines, United Arab Emirates could also

be jute bag demanding countries. The Potential demand of jute shopping bags was calculated by replacing the current consump-tion of polythene shopping bags and reusability of jute shopping bags was considered. Conclusion The study identified the potential market of jute shopping bags in different countries. Analysis of the data showed that there is a market of at least 33 billion of jute shopping bags all over the world and Rwanda, Tanzania, Denmark, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Bulgaria, South Africa, France and USA could be the most potential countries for the jute shopping bags consump-tion. References Akullian A, Caroline K, Kemen A, and Drew D 2006. Plastic Bag Externalities and Policy in Rhode Island.’ Brown Policy Review paper available at http://seattlebagtax.org/referencedpdfs/en-akullianetal.pdf, Miller RM 2012. Plastic Shopping Bags: An Analysis of Policy Instruments for Plastic Bag Reduction. Masters Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Geosciences. University of Utrecht, the Netherland. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) 2006. Jute ecolabel Life cycle assessment of jute prod-ucts. Available at http://www.jute.com:8080/c/document_library/

Author: A.T.M. Jahangir Alam, Project Assistant , IJSG

Fig1: List of the countries that impose different type of policies for banning polythene bag

Country Jute Shopping bag

consumption trend Country Jute Shopping bag

consumption trend

The Nether-

lands

(+) Belgium (-) (-)

France (+) Estonia (-) (-)

Sweden (~) Bulgaria (+)(+)

Switzerland (+)(+) Ireland (+)

Denmark (+) Germany (~)

Rwanda (+) Tanzania (+)

South Africa (+)(+) Mauritius (-)

Botswana (+)(+) USA (+)

Chile (+) Israel (-)

Oman (-) Hongkong (-)(-)

(a) (b) (c)

Name of the Country

Potential Demand of Jute Shopping Bags

(In Millions)

Name of the Country

Potential Demand of Jute Shopping Bags (In

Millions)

Bangladesh 2709 Bulgaria 131

Bhutan 9 Belgium 143

Papua new Guinea

421 Romania 4

Eritrea 59 Taiwan 83

Rwanda 119 Hongkong 774

Tanzania 509 Israel 158

Republic of Congo

48 Vietnam 176

Zanzibar 11 South Africa 626

Somalia 104 India 6267

Kenya 454 Myanmar 59

Uganda 377 Pakistan 2682

Ethiopia 998 Egypt 1

Oman 230 France 26

Denmark 60 Australia 87

Ireland 19 Brazil 688

Germany 362 Canada 71

Finland 108 USA 778

Netherlands 217 Macidonia 42

Table -2: Trend of Jute bag and sack import in different countries

Fig 2: Consumption of Polythene bags before and after legislation in different (a) banning (b) Imposing levy (c) imposed policies in states and cities

Table-3: Potential countries for jute shopping bags with demand

MSP for jute to be around Rs 2,350-2,400ql for 2014-15

Jute Matters

training was to develop skill of jute mill personnel for efficient running of the mill and to in-crease productivity and improve quality. The ToT program was divided on spinning and weaving modules of five days each. The modules were conducted by the faculty members (three for each module) of the Department of Jute and fiber Technology

Wipe your carbon footprints with JUTE Page 3

In India the minimum support price (MSP) of jute for 2014-15 is expected to be in the range of RS 2,350-2,400 per quintal, a marginal rise over last year’s MSP of RS 2,300 per quintal. A c c o r d i n g t o o f f i c i a l sources, the MSP for the crop had witnessed a sharp correction in 2012-13, when it was raised by 31% to Rs 2,200 per quintal. Therefore this year’s MSP will aim at recovering the cost. The other mandate is to contain the farm gate price to check the inflationary pressure on every commodity. In its recommenda-

tions submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture, CACP has recom-mended complete review of the policies of pricing and adminis-trative allocation followed for jute bags. This is because the jute bags are allocated at administered prices of jute mills and this is done at the expense of consum-ers of other industries which use jute bags, primarily food grain industry. This acts as a major impediment to modernization, sustainability and growth of the jute industry, said sources. [Source: The Business Standard, Oct 19,

2013]

The country fetched the said amount of foreign exchange by exporting 73,997 bales of raw jute to different countries, mostly to Pakistan and China. During the period, the country exported raw jute worth Tk 13.83 crore to Paki-stan, Tk 6.13 crore to India, Tk 22.55 crore to China, Tk 1.24 crore to Vietnam, Tk 6.33 crore to Cuba, Tk 3.12 crore to Russia, Tk 0.63 crore to Nepal. Bangladesh Jute Association (BJA) has set a target for exporting 7.0 million

Bangladesh exported raw jute worth Tk 53.83 crore in the first two months of the current finan-cial year (July-August 2013-14).

A new training programme on jute products manufacturing to protect the environment was in-troduced at the Government ITI College for Girls, in connection with Mahatma Gandhi’s 145th Jayanti, on Wednesday. The 30-day training was imparted to women free of cost. Inaugurating the programme, Municipal Commissioner Manga-tayaru, said that the campaign to ban the use of plastic products was effectively being run in the municipal limits and if it was sup-ported by all sections, it could easily be successful. Jute products

bring down environmental pol-lution, she said. [Source: The Hindu, Oct 19, 2013]

Jute exports fetch Tk 53.83cr

(DJFT), University of Calcutta, India. The spinning module was started on 27 October and ended on 31 October, 2013 and of weaving module was on 03 and completed on 07 November, 2013. The inauguration session of the training was chaired by the Secretary General (SG) of IJSG Mr. Bhupendra Singh and Ma-jor General (Retd.) Humayun

Khaled Chairman, Bangladesh Jute Mill Corporation (BJMC) was present as chief guest in the same. Dr. C. K. Saha, Project and Operations Officer, IJSG was also present in the opening session. The chief guest appreci-ated the efforts of IJSG for orga-nizing such a productive interna-tional level training for the jute mill personnel of jute industries

IJSG NEWS

bales of raw jute during this fiscal year (2013-2014). But the associa-tion cannot achieve their desired goal from the sector because of slow pace of export this year. A total of 19,431 bales of raw jute were exported to Pakistan, while 8,303 bales to India, 31,392 bales to China, 1,680 bales to Vietnam, 7,875 bales to Cuba, 4,481 bales to Russia, 835 bales to Nepal, 7,875 bales of raw jute were ex-ported to Cuba in July-August of 2013-14 fiscal.

In view of the dearth manpower in the jute industry of various countries like, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, china, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam etc. the IJSG Secretariat had organized an in-ternational training of trainers (ToT) program for supervisors and technologists of jute indus-tries at the IJSG Headquarter in Dhaka. The objective of the

Training of Trainers (ToT) for supervisors and technologist of the jute industry at IJSG

Training programme on jute

Mr. Singh thanked the resource persons from the University of Calcutta for conducting the training and to BJMC, BJMA, BJSA and BJRI for providing their staff/scientists in the train-ing. In the valediction ceremony the Secretary, Ministry of Textile and jute, Govt. of Bangladesh Mr. Phani Bhoushon Choudhury was present as chief guest and awarded certificates to the par-ticipants. He emphasized and advised to the trainees to utilize the gathered knowledge in their respective jute mills. Mr. Ma-hbub Ullah, Executive Secretary was also present in the valedic-tion ceremony and gave vote of thanks and concluded the ses-sion.

Country’s raw jute is usually exported through Mongla and Chittagong sea ports, Benapole and Banglabandh land ports. M Quiyum, Secre-tary of the BJA, however, said the country might not be able to meet the target of raw jute export set for this year as the international buyers have been importing raw jute slowly. [Source: The Daily Sun, Oct 22 . 2013]

November 2013

JUTE NEWS

Participants of the Spinning Module Participants of the Weaving Module

International Jute Study Group (IJSG)

Wipe your carbon footprints with JUTE

Editorial Board Chief Patron : Mr Bhupendra Singh, Secretary General, IJSG Executive Editors : Dr. Chandan Kumar Saha, Project & Operations Officer, IJSG & Mr Mahbub Ullah, Executive Secretary, IJSG Coordinator & Associate Editor: Safinoor Sagorika, Library & Resource Centre Assistant, IJSG 145 Monipuripara Tejgaon Dhaka-1215, Bangladesh. Tel : (880 2) 9125581-5, Fax : (880 2) 9125248-9 Email : info@jute.org , Web : www.jute.org. Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/jute.org and Twitter on https://twitter.com/juteorg, Published for International Jute Study Group (IJSG)

Page 4

Jute Matters November 2013

Anew green school is being planned in Ajman for the next academic year, where students will cultivate medicinal plants, trees, fruits and vegetables on a 50,000 square feet farm and profits from the sale of the same will go towards charity support-ing poor school students in other countries. Habitat Private School

Composites Evolution's Biotex Commingled Flax/PLA materials have been chosen to develop bio-degradable furniture. The project,

planned to be launched in Ajman from April 2014 to offer a different learning experience for expatriate children, who are often confined to the four walls of their flats. "Organic fruits and vegetables will be grown in the school campus will be sold to parents. [Source: Reuters, Oct 17, 2013]

in collaboration with Net Compos-ites in Chesterfield, started as a study to see whether plant-based materials could be used to make furniture components, instead of petrochemical-based plastics. Roger Bateman, at Sheffield Hal-lam University, began designing furniture products that used Biotex Flax/PLA, to replace less environ-mentally-friendly, man-made board, such as MDF or chipboard. [Source: Composites Evolution, Oct 8 , 2013]

Plastic News

New eco-friendly school to open in Ajman, UAE

Natural Fibre News

Singapore uses 3 billion plastic bags a year

Two plastics chemicals: bisphe-nol A (BPA) and phthalates -- may reduce the reproductive ability of both men and women, according to a new pair of stud-ies. Women with high levels of BPA in their blood have an 80 percent increased risk of miscar-riage when compared to women with little or no BPA, reported study co-author Dr. Ruth Lathi. "BPA at time of conception was significantly higher in those who miscarried compared to those who had a live birth," said Lathi, an assistant professor of obstet-rics and gynecology at the Stan-ford University Medical Center.

Meanwhile, couples can experi-ence a 20 percent reduction in their reproductive capability if the male partner has high phthalate concentrations, ac-cording to a study. Phthalates are no longer used to make baby products and BPA has been banned for use in sippy cups, baby bottles and infant formula packaging. Some doc-tors are concerned that the chemicals disrupt the function of hormones in the human body and could have harmful effects on unborn children. [Source: HealthDay News, Oct 14, 2013]

Environment

For a population of five mil-lion people, Singapore uses a staggering amount of three bil-lion plastic bags a year, a new study by the Singapore Environ-ment Council (SEC) has found. To tackle this huge amount of wastage, the environ-mental non-profit has recom-mended that the government implement a nationwide “Bring

Your Own Bag Everyday”. The SEC is advocating for less plastic bag waste in Singapore through the release of their latest research on consumer behaviour and atti-tudes complete with a set of pol-icy recommendations. The SEC recently conducted a survey of 2,500 Singaporeans to gauge the country’s consumer behaviour and attitudes on plastic and reus-able bags. The findings have shown that the usage of plastic bags in Singapore is a complex and multi-faceted issue. Eco-nomic considerations have to be balanced with environmental and commercial and even per-sonal interests. [Source: Eco Business.com; Oct 02 , 2013]

Composites Evolution’s used in 100% biodegradable furniture

Plastics chemicals tied to reproductive woes for human

Upcoming International Events

FAO, 148th Session of the Council, Rome, Italy December 2-6, 2013

2nd International Conference on Kenaf and Allied Fibres 2013 along with PSCB meet Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, De-cember 3-5, 2013

Upcoming IJSG Events

17th Meeting of Council of IJSG , December 09, Dhaka, Bang-ladesh Training of JDP manufacturer in India, January 2014 (Tentative)

New Associate Member October, 2013

204. Dara Al Masud Khan International Sales Agencies 49, Motijheel C/A, 8th floor, Dhaka,Bangladesh. Tel: +88 (02) 9555979, 9570365. Fax: +88 (02) 9551172. Email: isa.jute@gmail.com Website:www.isagroupbd.com