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Women in India show secret to plastic-free shopping

SECRET PROJECTS, a social business that strives to empower women in India who make and sell clothing and homeware, has unveiled a product that aims to reduce plastic use.

Their foldable shopping bags, priced at £6 each, are part of their micro- enterprise scheme that aims to provide Indian women with an additional income. These bags are also an


alternative to plastic shopping bags.

Launched following a crowdfunding campaign in February that saw 143 backers pledging more than £5,000, these bags are made out of cotton and sold to local shop keepers

in India. They can also be bought online too.

Fritha Mason, the founder of Secret Projects, decided on the Secret Shopping Bag after the Indian government announced last year its vision to phase all single-use plastics by 2022.

This created a huge opportunity for the women living in India who stitch and who are trying to run their own micro enterprises, said Mason.

Secret Projects works with 14 women’s groups in five states of India, and for each bag they earn just over £2.

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US LAWMAKERS and the United Nations have expressed concern over violence in Bangladesh following the lynching of a Hindu man, calling for accountability and protection of religious minorities.

Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi condemned the killing of Dipu Chandra Das amid what he described as instability and unrest. “I am appalled by the targeted mob killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu man in Bangladesh—an act of violence amid a period of dangerous instability and unrest,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement on Sunday. He said that while authorities have reported arrests, “the Government of Bangladesh must aggressively pursue a full and transparent investigation and prosecute all those responsible to the fullest extent of the law.” He added that urgent action was needed to protect Hindu communities and other religious minorities and to uphold the rule of law.

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