Homemaker creates eco-friendly flags out of seed paper

The flags sold soon end up being strewn all over the roads soon as the celebrations are over.

Thirty-three-year-old homemaker, Shruti Dadhich, recalls her school going daughter bringing home several such flags after each Independence Day. “I felt very uncomfortable having to throw away the flags and wasn’t sure what to do with them. Our home was filling up with too many each year and I wanted to find a solution,” she recounts. Shruti decided to make flags making use of plant-able seed paper, which is paper created from recycled cotton fabric and seeds.

“The paper uses no toxic inks or chemicals, and is made of recycled cotton and contains seeds that can grow when planted in the soil. I decided to approach a friend who is working on such seed paper to create flags. After we are through with the Independence Day celebrations, these flags can be planted into soil and they will grow into marigold and basil plants. This seemed like the most dignified way of creating and giving a new life to the flags instead of throwing them away,” explains Shruti, who is a mother of two young daughters.

The seed paper, that is biodegradable easily allows the seeds inside to germinate and grow, once potted in soil with water. The homemaker’s eight-year-old daughter is now excited to take these flags to her school. “As soon as I began creating these flags, I have had several schools and NGOs from across the country being interested in them. The NGOs want to distribute these flags to street-side vendors in different cities so that we can get rid of plastic ones that end up being thrown away. Schools in Chennai have also been keen to distribute these flags to students,” she adds.

In addition, veteran Indian Army and Navy officials have also been keen on procuring these eco-friendly flags from her, informs Shruti.