SmallSteps: A Smart Bag For a Smart Planet

Smallsteps turns 11!

2018-04-24T23:15:00.001-07:00

Let’s Team up to Clean up

In the streets of Kuilapalayam Village, Upasana with Smallsteps and Well bags held the Cleanup drive this Earth Day to raise awareness about avoiding usage of plastic bags. The cleanup team worked for about and hour picking up everything from used plastic water bottles and bags to sweeping cigarette butts in the masses.

Indeed, good deeds are contagious. As we were picking up trash, a man who barely spoke English was watching us. Eventually, he started helping with many more informally.

About Smallsteps

Small Steps project was initiated and funded by Upasana Design Studio, Auroville. It was launched on Earth Day, 22nd April 2007.

Smallsteps bags are reusable handmade shopping bags. Using one Smallsteps bag can prevent the usage of over 500 disposable plastic bags that a single person would use over a year. It is a tiny effort which contributes a great deal to the environment. These bags are stitched by women from villages in Tamil Nadu, India.

Smallsteps is more than just a bag. It aims at three main changes in the world –

1. Conscious consumption - to raise the awareness of the impact of purchasing decisions on the environment and the consumer’s health and life;

2. Woman Empowerment - to provide the means to support women in rural areas, by offering employment opportunities;

3. Environment conservation - to make a real change on the natural resources that are affected by plastic pollution.

About the Event

On this 22nd April Small Steps turned ELEVEN and to celebrate the success and reignite the spirit among the people, we planed to make this day eventful. Keeping this in mind we decided to collaborate with Well Bags. Well Bags is a company which aims to reduce the menace of plastic bags and its impact on the environment.

This event on the Earth Day tried to celebrate the efforts of the people who have been involved the initiative to make a difference and develop consciousness of environment conservation.

This event started at 3 pm on 22nd April, with an interactive session between Smallsteps team and the Well Bags Team followed by award ceremony for the heroes of the planet and clean up of the nearby area. Individuals and groups of all ages and sizes volunteered to help.

We defy stereotypes with small steps. As we were getting down to clean, three middle-aged people walked by and exclaimed “They’re wasting their time… Cleaning up only for the place to get trashed again.” Although this isn’t an exclusive opinion, thinking that our actions won't make an impression, keeps us stuck but we all should take responsibly to stand for change that we would like to see.

All the volunteers and the team in silence promised that we will reduce plastic consumption to our capacity and dispose trash responsibly.

Maha Kumbh Mela 2013 plastic ban

2013-01-07T02:17:00.001-08:00

The Kumbh Mela is a pilgrimage of Hindus to the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and (Mythical) Saraswati rivers in Prayag (Allahabad, UP). The Ardh Mela is every 6 years, while the Puma Mela is every 12 years. Every 12 Puma Mela is celebrated as the Maha Kumbh Mela. the last one was in 1869. January to March 2013 will see the unique Maha Kumbh Mela in 144 years.
In 2001, the last Puma Kumbh Mela saw 60 million pilgrims bathes in the river. It was said to be the largest gathering of people in the history of humanity. It was visible from outerspace!

2001 Kumbh Mela from space (top left caroner of image)

The risk of pollution

This year, the Maha Kumbh Mela, a once-in-144-years event, is expected to break the previous record for human gathering. Over the years, the local authorities have done a great job of providing sanitary facilities, medical facilities, drinking water, and all sorts of facilities such an event requires. However, the one danger that is still a menace is the pollution caused to the river. As pilgrims offer milk in their prayers, the milk packet (plastic cover) is discarded to the flow of the waters. Needless to point out the concentration of all the other usage of plastic covers and bags we take for granted on a daily basis that such an event will conjure.

To counter this, a big awareness campaign has already been set in motion. the UP government is buying out advertising pages in all major newspaper to warn people that a ban on polytene will be enforced.

So if you are atending the Kumbh Mela this year, don't forget your SmallSteps bag!

Let's say not to plastic bags

2012-12-10T21:51:00.000-08:00

More on SmallSteps

2012-12-02T23:41:00.002-08:00

Today we update the blog layout with new tab links under the header (see above). The new tabs link to a page with a list of stores where you can find your smallstep bag in various cities across India. We have also added a link back to our home page. Feel free to explore.

Ban of Plastic bags in India

2012-11-26T02:40:00.003-08:00

There is a growing trend to ban plastic carrier bags in cities across India as the plastic pollution menace is growing by the day. A number of new articles have reported the bold decisions by public authorities (in Delhi, in Kanyakumari, in the Nilgiris hills) to ban the source of the menace, but this is not always practical as little alternatives have been put into place to effectively wean the public away from this addiction.

A number of countries have also taken this initiative and India is one of the most active proponents of such a ban. However, the plastic pollution is real and banning the source is only addressing the future production of this menace. We still have a major problem today to resolve in cleaning up our land and water of this trash. Unlike other natural trash, plastic remains in our environment for a long time. in order for the ban to be effective, we also need to address the issue of collection and recycling. Currently it is left to the private sector and individuals to tackle this issue. I have heard of stories of plastic bottle recycling plants in Chennai being forced to purchase trash bottles from the US and Europe in order to supply its need as the disorganised collection in India is simply not able to satisfy the demand for waste plastics.

Similarly, a new initiative by the Chennai mayor to collect plastics for recycling in road surfacing layers which was launched at the beginning of this year never materialised, as I myself attempted to deliver collected plastics to the indicated collection centres only to find corporation staff clueless of this collection drive.

It is left up to the private sector to organise itself using market forces to drive the need. The recent FDI in retail reform passed by the centre may yet have a solver lining as this article highlights about Ikea's trash recycling initiatives in Sweden. Such initiatives would work very well in India as people are all too ready to make a few rupees worth of business, especially among the poorer urban population which are less likely to follow laws that ban the use of plastics as this Reuters blog so well explains:

" When it comes to plastic bags, alternatives aren’t as cheap, but people tend to not mind flouting what they consider “nanny-state” laws if the fines aren’t that high. After all, paying the fine might be easier for some than hunting for a jute bag. "

Plastics in our seas

2012-11-24T04:35:00.000-08:00

Plastics often end up being blown in the sea, they get eaten up by fish, killing them or poisoning them which may end up being fished by fisherman. It is a worrying development and there are not solutions but to reduce, reuse or recycle our plastic nuisance. So next time you dispose of a plastic bag, try not to throw it in the open, either collect it with other plastic bags and sell them to a recycler or ruse them. The best solution is to carry a small shopping bag with us at all times so as to be able to say no to plastic bags!

Preparing India for a consumer wave

2012-11-12T03:56:00.000-08:00

A recent article in The Hindu highlights the environmental dangers of consumerism. The article highlights the problem that invariably accompanies consumption, that of garbage disposals. Well documented, the author points to the issues in the USA, notably its largest landfill, Puente Hills outside Los angeles.

What started off as landfill (a hole in the ground) is now a towering 500-foot high hill of trash. The refuse of nearby civilization, and growing. The problems are diverse, from escalating production of trash to containment of the toxic substance oozing into the ground and contaminating the underground water resources. It is a man-made natural disaster in the making.

Furthermore, the article points out that recent trends in educating the masses in the need of recycling is not really addressing the problem, for the majority of trash is a direct consequence of industry's calculated strategy to push consumption to its extremes. One of the biggest contribution being technology's built in obsolescence, a design feature of modern consumer technology to ensure a shorter life-time of the object and therefore force the consumer to purchase evermore newer models, as this short movie highlights.

The original documentary, by German film maker Cosima Donnitzer can be viewed in this post. However, as a note of optimism, all problems come with opportunities, as this report from Puente Hills shows, trash decomposition is also a source of alternative energy.

Come, Step out with a SmallStep

2012-11-05T00:28:00.000-08:00

As part of our Step Out with a SmallSteps campaign to encourage our country to say to no to plastic bags we have re-designed the box to hold 10 bags as a self-display container that can be placed on tills and counter tops of points of sales of stores and small boutiques.

We actively looking for partners to take up this campaign on a national scale and encourage as many people as possible to use SmallSteps. We have also designed a smallsteps tree that we hand out on a deposit basis for shops and stores to display smallsteps in an elegant way.


full length	half length	table opp

If you would like to join us to spread the message and sell Smallsteps in your area, please get in touch with us on our main site.

Don't litter, save our wildlife

2012-10-28T23:17:00.000-07:00

Plastic in numbers

2012-10-22T10:59:00.001-07:00

Our oceans are suffering, help!

2012-10-15T02:04:00.001-07:00

Our oceans are our rubbish bins for all the plastics we throw away which does not end up in a landfill or an incinirator. Most people are not aware that everytime we use a plastic wrapper or bag and we throw it away, the winds carry it, the rains and rivers wash it away and the majority ends up in our oceans. Here is an animation movie that illustrates this problem.

We all need to make a conscious effort to reduce, reuse and recycle our plastic ways! You can make a simple step, become a volunteer with our SmallSteps ambassador program and encourage your friend, neighbours, school mates, family to say not to plastic bags.

SmallSteps blog has its own home

2012-10-12T01:02:00.000-07:00

Dear readers, this blog is now integrated with the SmallSteps main site, www.smallsteps.in with its own home address. You can now access this blog at:

blog.smallsteps.in

happy reading...

The menace of platic bags

2012-10-07T10:11:00.001-07:00

Here is Mockumentary film that beautifully illustrates the urgency of our battle with the menace of plastic bags. Please share this movie with your friends and contacts, your local school, your college friends and family members. It is important to build an awareness so as to unite in fighting this danger to our environment.

Small Steps for India

2012-10-01T02:56:00.002-07:00

We recently launched SmallSteps bags in a big way with Landmark stores. The bags are available at the Point of Sale in each store. We launched under a new campaign called Step Out with a Small Steps, and each box of small step bags reflect a different graphic illustrating this campaign. The concept of the campaign is to inculcate the need to carry a Small Steps bags with us at all times so as to be able to say no to plastic bags. Hence, which ever your profession, what ever your activity, always have a smallsteps bags handy to carry your things.

Do join us by grabbing your smallsteps bag today at anyone of the Landmark stores.

Fed up with plastic bags?

2012-09-11T22:17:00.000-07:00

Plastic bags take a 1000 years to decompose

Plastic bags are everywhere nowadays, increasingly ending up in landfills, in waterways and blighting the environment. We are so used to accepting plastic bags to carry our items that we often forget what a menace this bag is to the environment.

This is why Upasana, a sustainable conscious design studio came up with the concept of a SmallSteps. A smart bag that folds up into a neat little pouch with a handy carabiner to hook it up to your keys or your purse.

The bags come in two models, one for serious shopping duty and another smaller one for riders, kids and general use that can be carried as a back pack.

Backpack model

Shopping bag model

Want to change your habits? Wish you could say no to plastic carrier bags next time you are out at the corner shop buying milk? Then StepOut with a SmallStep! Get your smart bag from any Landmark shop in India and get into the habit of carrying it with you at all times. Landmark currently in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Mumbai, New Delhi, Gurgaon, Pune, and Vardodara.