Women working at the jute harvest in a field, sorting the stalks.

Jute, the golden fibre, meets all the standards for safe packaging in view of being a natural, renewable, biodegradable and eco-friendly product. Jute production is a labour intensive industry as it employs about two lakh workers in the West Bengal alone and 4 lakh workers across the country. Jute is the second most abundant natural fibre in the world. It has high tensile strength, acoustic and thermal insulation, breathability, low extensibility, ease of blending with both synthetic and natural fibres, and antistatic properties. Jute can be used: for insulation (replacing glass wool), geotextiles, activated carbon powder, wall coverings, flooring, garments, rugs, ropes, gunny bags, handicrafts, curtains, carpet backings, paper, sandals, carry bags, and furniture. This image was taken at Cooch Behar,West Bengal,India.