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Fibre of fashion

Jute jewellery is stylish, inexpensive and eco-friendly

PHOTO: A. ROY CHOWDHURY

UNDERSTATED Jute jewellery is at once simple and elegant.

If you think gunny bags are all you can make out of jute, think again. Jute has found its way out of the dreary world of sacks into the glamorous world of fashion. Over the years, jute has been combined with synthetic or natural fibres to produce elegant decorative items, shoes, bags, jewellery, room dividers and so on.

And college girls swear that there's nothing like a trendy piece of jute jewellery to make a fashion statement. Sonia of Jain College says: "Jute is the best choice if you want to look cool without paying a bomb for it."

Added to the price factor are other benefits such as high tensile strength, considerable heat and fire resistance and long staple length. "They are light weight, durable, easy to use and extremely fashionable," adds Renu Singh, an employee in a shop that sells jute accessories.

In many colours

Jute can be easily dyed or blended with other materials and transformed from monotonous brown to exotic colours suited to a person's choice of style. Pankaj Barnal, a fashion technology student, says: "I prefer jute for my fashion garments as it can be nicely juxtaposed with fibres like wool, nylon, rayon, acrylic or polypropylene. All these enrich the fibre in feel, appearance, durability, resilience and washability. But to arrive at the correct methods of blending and processing, technology has to be further developed."

But sadly, jute garments have failed to make any significant impact on the consumers. While bags and jewellery are quite a rage, the other products are yet to gain popularity.

One outlet trying to popularise jute in Bangalore is Jute Cottage. An employee there says: "Bags and jewellery are so much in demand in the market that it becomes a viable option to maintain a shop." Its factory produces about a 1,000 bags per month whose prices range from Rs. 50 to Rs. 400.

In the jewellery section, the most in demand are those that blend the fibre with stones, metals and leather to give them a hip look.

Pooja of St. Joseph's College says: "Jute jewellery gives me the exact look I always wanted."

The jewellery is available at prices from Rs. 25 upwards. These inexpensive pieces look great with cotton outfits and tees.

Another plus for jute products is that they are eco-friendly and biodegradable. What more can one ask for when style goes with substance?

PRITHISH CHAKRABORTY AND EMILEE KASHYAP

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