India's Glass and Ceramics Clusters
Firozabad: The City of Bangles
How Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh makes most of India's glass bangles and glassware, the home-based work of decorating bangles, and working conditions.
Firozabad is India’s glass city.
Bangles
Firozabad makes most of India’s glass bangles.
Glassware
Also chandeliers, decorative items and bottles.
Production
- Furnaces melt glass in factories.
- Bangles are joined, decorated and packed in homes, often by women and children.
Working conditions
- Heat from furnaces.
- Burns and eye strain.
- Child labour has been reported.
Pollution
Near the Taj Mahal, Firozabad had to switch to natural gas under a Supreme Court order to protect the monument.
ODOP
Glass is Firozabad’s ODOP product.
The bangle joiner
A woman in Firozabad joins bangle ends over a small flame at home, paid per dozen.
Thinking bangles are machine-made in big factories
Much finishing is home-based handwork.
Key takeaways
- Firozabad makes most glass bangles.
- Finishing happens in homes.
- Heat and burns are risks.
- The Taj Mahal rules pushed gas use.
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