(Image source: Paper Seed Co)

Paper Seed Co is an exciting non-profit organisation from Mangaluru in South India. It operates on the basic idea of reduce, reuse & recycle with the strong commitment towards mother nature. There slogan is “ The effective way to reduce waste is not to create it. If it had to be created then reuse or recycle it. We at Paper Seed, work for building a better, healthier and greener planet.”

Ever since 2017 they have been creating a variety of recycled and plant seed products. As the pandemic began, they started trialling with paper seed masks.

Almost all the products produced by Paper Seed Co are handcrafted and created from recycled materials. Proceeds from the sales of their products goes towards providing employment to the rural women, as well as created a greener and more sustainable planet.

The founder of Paper Seed Co, Nitin Vas, explains his philosophy on this new venture:

“Masks are essential for humans but they are also creating problems for other species. We see them lying on the streets and ending up in landfills, but forget that it also ends up in rivers and oceans creating irreparable damage to the environment and aquatic life”.

The product we are most excited about is their hand made face masks. They have produced a face mask that will both protect people and also is fully sustainable when thrown away, therefore instead of sitting at the bottom of a rubbish dump or polluting the sea, the mask will simply recycle itself into a plant.

Vas explains that their cotton masks are made from recycled rags.  “The outer cover is made from cotton plup utilising various scrap materials collected from the garment industry, and the inner linings are made from soft cotton cloth. They are thick enough, and effective to prevent infection,”

Despite being made from cotton, his masks are single-use. Once used, you just throw it in soil, water it a little and in a few days, it will (fingers crossed) grow into a plant.

For Vas, it is much more than creating a eco friendly product as his project generates employment in and around his local area of Pakshikere, Dakshina Kannada district.  “I believe in Gandhian philosophy of Swadeshi movement, where the core principle is to come up with sustainable solutions,”

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How to find out more about Paper Seed Co:

Website -  https://paperseed-co.web.app/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/paperseedco

Instagram -  https://www.instagram.com/paperseedinsta/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/paperseedco