Your shopping bag may just be plastic in disguise

  BENGALURU: If you have been out shopping in the city the past few weeks, stores may have given you shopping bags made of a thin translucent material that looks and feels like cloth or paper. The porous material is sturdy, water-resistant and melts. Ever wondered why? This is because these non-woven bags are made using polypropylene fibres, a plastic variant and is non-biodegradable.There is very little awareness that it is non bio-degradeable,said Kavitha Reddy, member of citizen group Hasirumithra, "Manufacturers position it as an ecofriendly alternative and as it looks like cloth, people fall for it."Informed citizen groups have been spreading the word about the material and getting shops to shift to cloth and paper bags.Some stores such as Subway, Reliance Fresh, Food World supermarkets and Grofers, have been using polypropylene bags even before the plastic ban. Beauty store Health and Glow is one of the chains that shifted to these after the plastic ban in the State. Shops and users are generally unaware of the composition of the material.Rasa India, an organic rest.