Should I walk all the way to my car for that bag, or should I pay the ten cents? The convenience of a ten-cent purchase often overpowers the average shopper’s sense of responsibility towards the environment. In fact, a recent market research study from MaCorr revealed that over 63% of plastic bag consumers forget to bring their reusable bag in store. To make matters worse, reusable plastic bags are often made of a thicker plastic than their single-use counterparts, which not only drastically increases plastic in landfills but eventually enters the food chain in the form of microfibers. Is this the world we want to live in?

That’s where Inbaya comes in, a nonprofit organization with a mission to replace reusable plastic bags with a biodegradable alternative. Inbaya aims to tackle the two major problems with the reusable plastic bag movement: (1) their cheapness and (2) their replaceability. Unlike the cheap and meaningless reusable plastic bags, Inbaya’s biodegradable bags — sewn by underprivileged tribal women in India from newspaper scraps and jute, a natural fiber —  provide an emotional incentive for people to reuse them. They tell a story of hard work, ambition, and togetherness, empowering these women to support one another in feeding their families. This personal touch cannot be easily “disposed of” the way other reusable bags can.

And that’s where you come in. Just as the baya bird single-handedly weaves a complex nest, piece-by-piece, from scraps of leaves, together, we can build an eco-friendly community, one bag at a time. So, whether you’re a corporate sponsor or an individual contributor, your support is key – every bag counts.