Surenthiran Anojini knits a bag using banana fiber in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka on April 16, 2022. Anojini, who worries about the high price of raw materials caused by the country's economic crisis, makes a profit by producing materials in her yard. (Thayalini Indrakularasa/Global Press Journal)

As a result of decades of greenwashing, a growing number of consumers are demanding transparency as a first and most important step toward a more sustainable future. However, transparency comes with a cost which needs to be held responsibly between the stakeholders. The current business model doesn’t seem to drive the Fashion Industry toward more sustainable practices, rather the contrary.

Bilal Bhatti, the founder and CEO of PaperTale Technologies says “I asked myself, can we turn this around and create a new business model where the more transparent a business is, the more profitable it becomes? To succeed with this, all stakeholders need to benefit from the system, and that is in short what we have created.”

PaperTale has previously launched collections with Sail Racing and Gina Tricot, where the power of the technology is being showcased to all customers who bought them. PaperTale has teamed up with Selyn Textiles in Sri Lanka, in a project financed by USAID which was launched yesterday in Sri Lanka.

Introducing The Banana Bag! Sri Lanka’s handloom industry veterans Selyn Textiles along with leading global blockchain solution provider PaperTale, have partnered in this exciting new venture. A partnership that is laying the foundations for a positive shift in the market and a first for Sri Lanka as the traceability of fashion items is taken to a new level.

Selyn’s mission is to create a sustainable social business based on the principles of fairtrade in order to positively impact the living standards of rural women and men. They do this by providing them with consistent income generation opportunities whilst keeping alive the local traditions of the handloom and crafts in Sri Lanka.

The Banana Bag is the product of the exciting partnership between these two trailblazing companies. The Banana Bag has sustainability at its core with much of the materials used to create it, coming from the banana plant itself. Once a banana plant is harvested the trunk-like center or pseudostem is cut, separated and the water dense fibers inside are removed by hand and machine and then sun-dried. They are then woven into the cotton by the loomers at Selyn.


So what is Radical Transparency?

All bags come with a unique, scannable NFC tag. Through the PaperTale app, customers have full insight into each step of the supply chain: from the farmers who grow and cut the banana plant to the craftsmen and women who weave the fibers into the fabric producing The Banana Bag.

Bilal Bhatti explains that Papertale technology creates checkpoints to make sure that all employees are being paid fairly:
“This technology is a game-changer in the way it reveals the truth behind the product. By the truth, I mean that we can also provide verified information about the social aspects of the manufacturing process and not just information about the components of the garment and its environmental impact.’’

“A fashion item is a complex product’’ continues Bhatti. ‘’This is why true transparency takes a lot of patience. With these complexities in mind, we’ve created a system that automatically calculates and verifies all the steps in the process’’.

PaperTale technology is Bhatti’s way of supporting both brands and the factories that are willing to invest in their sustainability efforts. “All our efforts make sense when I see a consumer’s reaction after scanning the PaperTale tag and appreciating this new level of transparency. PaperTale delivers proof to consumers and distinguishes the brands from those who make false and empty claims,” he said and continues:

As a result of decades of greenwashing, a growing number of consumers are demanding transparency as a first and most important step toward a more sustainable future. However, transparency comes with a cost which needs to be held responsibly between the stakeholders. The current business model doesn’t seem to drive the Fashion Industry toward more sustainable practices, rather the contrary.

Bilal Bhatti, the founder and CEO of PaperTale Technologies says “I asked myself, can we turn this around and create a new business model where the more transparent a business is, the more profitable it becomes? To succeed with this, all stakeholders need to benefit from the system, and that is in short what we have created.”

PaperTale has previously launched collections with Sail Racing and Gina Tricot, where the power of the technology is being showcased to all customers who bought them. PaperTale has teamed up with Selyn Textiles in Sri Lanka, in a project financed by USAID which was launched yesterday in Sri Lanka.

Introducing The Banana Bag! Sri Lanka’s handloom industry veterans Selyn Textiles along with leading global blockchain solution provider PaperTale, have partnered in this exciting new venture. A partnership that is laying the foundations for a positive shift in the market and a first for Sri Lanka as the traceability of fashion items is taken to a new level.

Selyn’s mission is to create a sustainable social business based on the principles of fairtrade in order to positively impact the living standards of rural women and men. They do this by providing them with consistent income generation opportunities whilst keeping alive the local traditions of the handloom and crafts in Sri Lanka.

The Banana Bag is the product of the exciting partnership between these two trailblazing companies. The Banana Bag has sustainability at its core with much of the materials used to create it, coming from the banana plant itself. Once a banana plant is harvested the trunk-like center or pseudostem is cut, and separated and the water-dense fibers inside are removed by hand and machine and then sun-dried. They are then woven into the cotton by the loomers at Selyn.


So what is Radical Transparency?

All bags come with a unique, scannable NFC tag. Through the PaperTale app, customers have full insight into each step of the supply chain: from the farmers who grow and cut the banana plant to the craftsmen and women who weave the fibers into the fabric producing The Banana Bag.

Bilal Bhatti explains that Papertale technology creates checkpoints to make sure that all employees are being paid fairly:
“This technology is a game-changer in the way it reveals the truth behind the product. By the truth, I mean that we can also provide verified information about the social aspects of the manufacturing process and not just information about the components of the garment and its environmental impact.’’

“A fashion item is a complex product’’ continues Bhatti. ‘’This is why true transparency takes a lot of patience. With these complexities in mind, we’ve created a system that automatically calculates and verifies all the steps in the process’’.

PaperTale technology is Bhatti’s way of supporting both brands and the factories that are willing to invest in their sustainability efforts. “All our efforts make sense when I see a consumer’s reaction after scanning the PaperTale tag and appreciating this new level of transparency. PaperTale delivers proof to consumers and distinguishes the brands from those who make false and empty claims,” he said and continues:

“The truth is in the details and taking responsibility for the supply chain in full is the first step towards sustainability.”

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