Sena Eco Shoes and Bags:

By Fathima Riznaz Hafi

The popularity of eco friendly products is on the rise with more people becoming aware of the benefits to our environment. Sena Eco Shoes and Bags Owner M.M. Edirisuriya runs a home-based business that produces footwear as well as bags that are not only safer for the environment but for the skin as well. 

He began his career in footwear, producing PVC slippers and selling them at various shops. Then he started experimenting with different material for his slippers. He later participated in an Ayurveda exhibition where he displayed slippers made from areca nut sheets – under the theme ‘healthy slippers’ and over there he was approached by The Good Market who saw his work and suggested that he turn his footwear business into an eco-friendly one and sell them at their stalls.

He loved the concept and started working on that straight away! Edirisuriya has completely stopped producing PVC footwear, realising the harm it poses for the environment and strives to work on products that are eco friendly, safer on the skin and of high quality. He has been developing his line for the past six years now.

In addition to his sales at The Good Market, he participates in exhibitions such as those held in BMICH and at their Christmas Fair, New Year Fair and Singer Lifestyle Fair. He also sells his bags and slippers to hotels, with one batch being sold just last week at the Ahungalla Hotel at the hotel’s shops.

Healthy slippers

After the brief introduction, he guided us towards the back of the house, through his cool, breezy compound that was, though simple, beautifully strewn with plants, flowers and small trees, and into his two workshops, one for footwear and the other for bags, where his staff were busy at work.

I found handloom cotton cloth of bright, beautiful colours in the bag workshop and then in the workshop that made slippers there was a lovely collection of men’s and women’s slippers made out of natural products (except for rubber).

The material he uses for his slippers consists mainly of reed leaves, areca nut, coconut shells, wood and handloom cotton cloth. He says at the moment his shoes are 60% eco friendly but feels that is not enough and is trying to figure out a way to achieve a higher level of safety. 

Showing me a sample he explained, “The top is made from reed and the bottom is from rubber. The environment pollution part is from the rubber. I want to reduce the rubber from these things. At the moment we are using 60% disposable material; my aim is to reduce this part also and replace with environmentally safe material and make it eco-friendly – by at least 90%.

“These slippers are also safe and healthy for our skin. The part that is in touch with the skin is either reed leaves or cloth while rubber which is at the bottom is the part that touches the ground – that part never comes in contact with the skin. That makes these slippers comfortable and safe on the skin – more so for diabetic patients – who suffer from rashes and wounds on their feet and need footwear that is gentle on their feet. Also unlike with PVC slippers whereby rubber gets heated up and uncomfortable, when these slippers are exposed to the sun they remain cool and don’t result in sweaty feet.” 

Handbags

His bags are also eco-friendly as he uses only environmentally-safe, cotton cloth. “I never use cloth that contributes to pollution. Cotton is eco-friendly so I use only that and nothing else,” he explained.

His choice of bright, vibrant colours and designs from the handloom cotton cloth are creatively put together to produce beautiful handbags that attract many customers. 

“The handles are made either from cloth or wood and never plastic. Even the decorative bit would be from coconut shells and never unsafe products. We do not use plastic buttons,” he said. 

His mode of selling for the past six years has been mainly at the Saturday Good Market. “Many foreigners come there and we get many orders from them – from France and Switzerland – and they usually order as many as 50 bags. I make them according to their preference and they take them back to their country. We get more business through the orders than through my sales at the stalls. One customer asked me to make a ‘three-in-one’ bag; i.e. you can adjust it to look like three different bags with different colour and pattern, for different occasions,” he said, holding the bag and demonstrating how it can be adjusted to look like a completely different bag. 

Love of environment

“I am not doing this for money; I really love the environment. I like the idea of environmentally friendly products and want to protect the environment. My vision is to be healthy and happy, using material from natural sources – not polluting the environment. I am not running behind the money and I don’t go for much publicity. I’m just doing this small industry myself,” he said. 

With good intentions at heart Edirisuriya continues to develop his eco-friendly business and we hope he reaches the level of safety that he is aiming for with his slippers, discarding the bad and adding the good.