Cloth bags for polythene

About this task

In Narsingdi, known for its looms and cloth, skilled hands for cloth bags are easy to find. A table on market day: five polythene bags in, one cloth or jute bag out, made by a local tailor. And talks with the shopkeepers; those who will cut polythene get a “No polythene here” sticker.

Why it matters

Bangladesh banned polythene shopping bags in 2002, among the first countries in the world to do so, because polythene was blocking drains and causing floods. Markets still run on polythene today, and it piles up in drains, rivers and soil.

What changes after

At least two hundred bags in people’s hands; stickers in at least ten shops; steady bag-making work for a local tailor.

Who can join

Anyone; if you can sew, help make the bags.

What it costs

Getting ready, step by step

• 3 weeks before

  Talk with the market committee and fix the market day and table spot.

  Call for old cloth (saris, lungis, curtains, bedsheets).

• 2 weeks before

  Agree size and rate with a local tailor; have a sample made, with handles that hold 5 kg of shopping.

  Give the cloth to the tailor; keep the receipt.

• 3 days before

  Count and collect the bags; print stickers and banner.

  First round of talks with shopkeepers: who will take a sticker.

  Decide who takes the collected polythene: the municipal waste service or a recycling collector.

• On the day

  Five polythene bags in, one cloth bag out; count the polythene into sacks.

  Put stickers on willing shops and list the shop names.

• The week after

  Give the collected polythene to the waste service or collector; never burn it.

  Visit the sticker shops to see if polythene has dropped, and talk.

Who does what

• Lead (1): Market committee, tailor, account and receipts. — ____________
• Swap table (2): Count polythene in, hand out bags, tick each bag. — ____________
• Shopkeeper talks (2): Go shop to shop, explain, sticker and list the willing ones. — ____________

The day, hour by hour

• 08:00Set table, banner and bags; sacks ready.
• 08:30Swap starts: five polythene for one bag.
• 09:30Shopkeeper team starts its round; stickers on willing shops.
• 11:00Break; check the bag and polythene counts.
• 11:15Swap and shop talks continue.
• 13:00Close; tie sacks at the drop point, finalise the sticker shop list, photos.

What can go wrong, and what to do

• Bags run out early and people are turned away → Announce from the start: one bag per person; when they run out, explain politely and give the next market day.
• Shopkeepers annoyed or objecting → Never press; avoid rush hour and go when it is quiet; stickers only where the owner agrees.
• Collected polythene dumped or burned → Fix who takes it beforehand; burning makes toxic smoke, never do it.
• Weak bags tear on the first day → Test the sample with 5 kg; have handles double-stitched.

Useful numbers

• 333Government information, services and complaints

Team notes