Making masks with garment scraps to ensure livelihoods

The global economic slowdown that resulted from the pandemic has affected multiple industries and led to mass unemployment at home and abroad. It is encouraging to learn that during such difficult times, rural women are making biodegradable, reusable Ella masks from garment scraps—a product of ELLA (Eco-friendly low-cost liquid absorbent) Pad, an award-winning social enterprise known for reusing high-quality textile scraps from export-oriented garment factories to produce sanitary napkins for RMG workers at affordable prices. Ella masks are standardised according to World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.

In order to provide financial independence, the enterprise connects rural women with different institutional buyers and UN agencies who purchase their masks. With the opportunity to earn Tk 400 per day without any additional hassle, hundreds of women from seven districts—Dhaka, Gazipur, Jamalpur, Kushtia, Magura, Narayanganj and Rajbari—got involved with the project. Many are even earning more than they did previously, and are able to make significant contributions to their household incomes.

At a time when unemployment poses a grave threat, it is promising to see how the organisation is trying to ensure the health and well-being of marginalised women to alleviate their sufferings. Overtime, when the demand for masks ease, ELLA Pad aspires to diversify into home textile items so that the women can continue making a living. We hope such initiatives get all the support they need in carrying out their activities so that they can be replicated across the nation and empower women in impoverished communities.