“Jute is the most sustainable material in the world. Why do you think we say this?” a Swedish entrepreneur lobbed the question to an audience comprising several Bangladeshi journalists and a senior government official. While the audience kept mum, the Swede said: “It’s your crop…It’s your golden fibre.” This was Christina Östergren, one of the founders of Juteborg AB. She and Else-Marie Malmek, the other co-founder, interacted with a small group of journalists and a senior foreign ministry official during a recent meeting. Juteborg AB is an innovative, entrepreneurial and development partner of high-tech jute-based products and innovation-design services. The company was founded in 2013 with the aim ‘to create a more sustainable world by reinventing the golden fibre of jute’, according to the organisation’s website.The co-founders said their objective is to make a difference in sectors like automobile/transport, construction/interior and textile, household and office. Experts have expressed their appreciation for the initiatives taken by the Swedish organisation. Khorshed Alam Khastagir, director general (Europe wing) of the foreign ministry, facilitated the visit of Östergren and Malmek by arranging meetings with different stakeholders, including a meeting with the jute and textiles minister followed by a PowerPoint presentation. Östergren and Malmek met oreign minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali in Hamburg, Germany, at an earlier event, where they were assured of every possible assistance to promote jute on a global basis. “Let me tell you how it all began. In Sweden, people don’t know about jute at all. They know only sacks and ropes. It surprised them when they found that it was a plant,” said Östergren. “I was looking for a sustainable product considering the impact of climate change. I was in a hurry. I found a friend of a friend who told me about jute. It’s such a magnificent fibre. The more I saw it, the more passionate I became about the golden fibre,” she added.Östergren, an architect by prfession, said she came to know from officials of the jute ministry that five crore people are dependent on jute in Bangladesh. “Efforts must be made for the development and diversification of jute. We’d like to help in this regard,” she added.“Jute is the most sustainable in terms of economy and ecology,” she said.Malmek said she got interested in the fibre considering its sustainability relating to climate change issues when she was working in the automobile sector. “Jute has a bright future in the automobile industry. The involvement of all the stakeholders is needed to make the best use of it,” she added.“When Christina (Östergren) told me about jute I realised that it is just the solution. We can resort to diversification of the jute fibre by producing jute-based materials,” she said. The Swedish co-founders said they are conducting research on the diversification of the jute fibre with the help of the Swedish government They also said they would also like to share their experience and research on jute with others to popularise jute.
