But if you’re among the stubborn few who think nothing of shelling out 20 sen per plastic bag, shame on you.

You’re part of the reason why a 2019 study commissioned by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) showed that Malaysia ranked second in Asia for annual per capita plastic use at 16.78 kilos per person.

One 22-year-old Medical Bioscience graduate, Pavithra Rajendran hopes to change this apathy towards plastic use with her sustainable, eco-friendly children’s toys.

“I was initially looking for a job in embryology,” explains Pavithra to FMT, adding that entry-level opportunities in this line of work are severely lacking in Malaysia especially for fresh graduates like her without working experience.

Unable to sit still while waiting for a job, Pavithra decided to babysit her adorable and inquisitive three-year-old nephew, Cholan.

Through many playdates with him, she realised that Malaysia had an untapped market for sustainable and eco-friendly toys.

“Based on my research, the few sustainable and eco-friendly toys available in the market are too expensive for the average household and this is something I wanted to change.”

She explains that she liked thinking-up DIY activities to keep her nephew entertained. And one day she discovered a playdough recipe that could be made at home, hence the birth of DIY Playdough Mix.

While playdough is fun for kids, achieving the right pliability proved to be no child’s play. However, through trial and error, she finally found the perfect mix and measurements of ingredients for her recipe.

“There is an untapped market for these types of playdough mixtures that parents can make themselves at home whenever they choose as all that’s needed is water,” says Pavithra.

She adds that the playdough mix is so easy to make that kids can make it themselves… under parental supervision, of course.

She explains that the act of kneading and forming the mixture not only helps improve a child’s motor skills and hand-eye coordination but gives them a good workout as well.

“There’s the added bonus of learning mathematical skills because the child has to measure the amount of water to be added to the mix.

“It will also give the child a sense of accomplishment because they will be able to play with something that they made themselves,” Pavithra says.

The DIY Playdough Mix is taste-safe, made with food-grade ingredients, scented with essential oils and available in eight attractive colours – Whimsical Pink (strawberry scent), Meadow Green (pandan scent), Ocean Blue (chamomile scent), Raspberry Red (raspberry scent), Coconut Candy (coconut scent), Lavender Love (lavender scent), Mud Earth and (lime) Lemonade.

“I tried my best to include scents familiar to Malaysians such as pandan. Plus, since all the ingredients in the DIY Playdough Mix are of food-grade quality, even if the child accidentally ingests it, parents need not worry.”

“Each 150g of Mix is packed in a resealable pouch and is made-to-order in batches to ensure its freshness when it reaches our customers.”

Pavithra’s second product, the reusable colouring roll is sourced from India. Parents in particular will love this product as it stops kids from scribbling on the walls with permanent markers, colour pencils and crayons.

All you have to do is unroll it, hang it on the wall and let your children loose on it.

One of the product’s unique features is that once the child is done colouring the characters on the colouring roll, you can scan in with an app, and using AR (Augmented Reality) technology, the characters on the colouring roll will come alive.

“Unlike single-use colouring books that contribute to paper wastage, the colouring roll can be wiped clean and reused.”

However, Pavithra laments that her business has been rather slow due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“My parents wanted me to pursue a more conventional career such as a doctor or a lawyer and were quite reluctant when I first told them of my sustainable toys idea.

“Thankfully, they are slowly warming up to it but I am very worried that my business will not be able to survive and thrive in this crisis.”

Despite the circumstances, Pavithra remains forever grateful to her nephew for being her guinea pig in testing out products, confessing that every time she pops over to babysit him now, all he wants is make playdough with her mixture.

Pavithra’s sustainable and eco-friendly toys can be found on Instagram and Facebook. You can also contact her at 017-3929865 for more information.