The cotton bags are stitched by tribal women in Palghar

Even as the state government has ordered a ban on plastic bags from March next year, one senior doctor has gone a step forward to ensure that the city is plastic-free. Dr Anuja Joshi Pethe, a consultant paediatrician from Nanavati Hospital, along with two of her architect friends, Uma Joshi and Manasi Thite-Dighe, is encouraging shopkeepers in Vile Parle to distribute hand-made cotton bags.