Get set for a green celebration

One of the biggest festivals of the year, Ganesh Chaturthi is just around the corner. Along with all the fun also comes a lot of waste, which has become a major cause for concern. Addressing this issue, some stores in the city as well as a couple of ecommerce websites are offering eco-friendly idols and paraphernalia. 

Shopping in the city
Dinesh Lohapatre, COO, Handmade Paper Institute, talks about their initiative of producing articles using handmade, biodegradable paper. The paper used by them is produced from scratch and is available in various colours and beautiful patterns.

“We use recycled paper and cotton pulp to make the Ganapati idols and different kind of decorative stuff like handmade paper flowers, door hangings, and paper bags. These items are quite affordable too,” he says. He mentions that the demand for such eco-friendly items is on the rise all over the country as they have an excellent shelf life. “Our paper is made of 70 per cent cotton and only 30 per cent of recycled paper. Hence, you can rely on its durability. It will last for 20-30 years, and if you keep it wrapped up in newspaper properly, it can last up to a 100 years too,” he adds. 

One of the biggest markets where you can find all kinds of decorative items for the festival is located in Ravivar Peth. With stock centred around Ganesh Chaturthi, such as canopies of colourful flower gardens, sequined materials and makhars of various shapes and sizes (peacock shaped, fort shaped, mandir shaped and so on), paper sunflowers, roses, rainbows, royal thrones, crowns and what have you, it is certain to make the cultural shopaholic in you fill with glee. 

M Chopra, who works at Kurban Hussain Chandabhai store in the same area, says, “The store is over 100 years old. We use MDF (Medium density fibreboard), bamboos, paper and cardboard using organic, water soluble paints, to make our products, all of which are eco-friendly.” Their bestselling item is the eco-friendly makhar, and is priced the same as the non-biodegradable ones so it won’t pinch your pocket to put in a thought for the environment. “The items made by MDF have a shelf life of about two years whereas the ones made out of paper and cardboard last only for the season but can be decomposed quite easily. We also make decor items like handmade flowers for the makhars using bright papers instead of plastic ones,” he adds. 

R N  Bangad, the 50-year-old store in the area also offers biodegradable Ganesh festival paraphernalia. Owner Abhijeet Bangad talks about offering items like makhars, mandirs and such using materials like cardboard, wood and paper mache in all possible shapes, sizes and colours. “We have local customers as well as people from cities like Satara, Baramati, Sangli coming over to shop,” he says. These items have a shelf life of three to five years and are most certainly reusable which puts them so much in demand,” he says. 

Click and buy
Those who cannot go to different physical stores can buy all their festival supplies online. Utsavi, a Mumbai-based store also sells items online, and delivers across the world. Nanasaheb Shendkar, owner, Utsavi, says, “I worked purely with thermocol items for 20 years straight, but I had to stop that because of the pollution it was causing. It was in 2001, long before the ban was imposed on one time plastic and thermocol that I switched to exclusively eco friendly biodegradable items.” 

He mostly uses recyclable cardboard to prepare decoration paraphernalia like makhars for home and pandals, lanterns and forts, all of which are extremely pocket friendly too. “My main aim is to satisfy my customers while contributing towards the environment cause. Thus, my price range is much less than others, I do not care much about profit. For online orders, items leave the store an hour after the order is confirmed, so it reaches places like America in merely 3 days.” he adds. 

The popular ecommerce website Snapdeal is also selling eco-friendly Ganesh festival stuff this year. Rajnish Wahi, senior vice president of corporate affairs and communication, Snapdeal, talks about offering  Ganapati and Gouri idols that are made using cow dung. “Natural soil and clay are used to make these eco-friendly idols which are either hollow on the inside or filled with manure, soil, and seeds sourced from sellers in Maharashtra and Karnataka” says he. 

The demand for such products is high. This apart, the website has also introduced new items like Ganesha lamp and handmade Ganesha temple, which have become quite popular.