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#PottersKiDiwali turning into Paraffin candle Diwali! Think before you buy


With Diwali 2019 just a week away, #PottersKiDiwali started trending on social media platforms, urging people to purchase handcrafted, eco-friendly earthen lamps and help the potters of India make brisk business during the festival time.
The Kumars or potter communities of India look forward to this time of the year, hoping to sell more wares than usual. However, their profit has been increasingly dipping over the past few years, with a slump in demand coupled with a higher price of raw materials.
Most homes are now choosing mass-produced plastic and glass wares instead of handcrafted earthen lamps to light up their homes during Diwali.
“Earlier, Chinese lights had caused a slowdown in the demand of earthen lamps but the traditional ways are making a comeback. The demand for earthen lamps is very good this year,” an artisan from Niranjanpur said.
However, the unexpected rains have destroyed their stock and left many earthen lamps incomplete. This has led to decrease in supply of earthen lamps in the market, inflating prices.
“The large earthen lamp, which I bought for Rs 10 last year was priced at Rs 30 this year,” homemaker Jaya Chawla said. On enquiring from the vendors, she was told about the problem faced in supply.
“I can understand the hike and hence, we are not negotiating and trying to make Diwali happy for everyone,” Jaya added.
Sadly, the scenario is not same everywhere, as most people fear that this Diwali, due to rains, they might not even get a chance to lighten their house with earthen lamps.
This has led to increase in demand for wax-based lamps and candles. The candles in variable sizes from smallest measuring about an inch to 5 feet are being bought by most households.
“Not only are paraffin candles slightly toxic, they are not biodegradable at the end of their life and they are made from a non-renewable resource which is environmentally (and socially) devastating to extract and commoditise. Not generally what one would consider an 'eco' product,” Padma Shri Janak McGilligan Palta has been averting people from buying and burning candles on Diwali.



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