Home ›› 02 Oct 2021 ›› Front
The blossoms aren’t real, but a leafy deception, yet they mirror natural ones occurring with increasing frequency in millions of homes in urban settings.
With the help of cutting edge technology, the age witnesses the flowering of imperishable, socially acceptable and washable artificial decorative items taking the place of natural ones as the latters are hard to retain and tend to.
As it happens, artificial decor has long been respectable since antiquity, but it was not until the recent times that florists and decor businesses could sense the pulse of people’s aestheticism in line with the changes of lifestyle and went up for grabs.
The rise in demand for such fancy products as artificial flower and plant, candle holder, decorative wall clock, table lamp, ceramic octagonal pot with artificial flower arrangement, ceramic pot with tray and golden colour umbrella designed metal is wooing investment in cottage and micro-category enterprises while the chief beneficiaries are women who have found self-employment and become self-reliant ultimately.
These items are mostly used for relief in home, office and stage, thus pushing the manufacturing industries to grow.
In the country, the business of artificial decorative items is growing rapidly riding on the event management business. The pretended ornament business as well as 1 to 99 shop business and aquarium culture are also adding fuel to it.
An increasing use of artificial jewelry during wedding ceremonies and such other occasions is giving a boost for cottage industry engaged in manufacturing ornaments.
As life is turning to be hectic day by day, people are on the lookout of a cheap mode of aestheticism, a sense of which drives pleasure seekers to relish beauty – be it artificially or whatsoever.
Out of this sense, cottage industries to this end have mushroomed, but still the market is totally import-dependent mostly from China.
Suzat Hossain, proprietor of SH enterprise at Bismillah Tower, Mitford Road in Dhaka, said the demand for artificial products is more than their supply.
“The event management companies purchase decorative items from us. Once it so happened that we made a sale worth Tk 11 lakh in a single day. The market is growing 30 to 35 per cent every year,” he explained.
Like Suzat around 40 others import such fancy items. Nearly 300 outlets selling feigned adornment products have mushroomed just in Dhaka alone.
Though there is no accurate data, the business insiders said the estimated market size is nearly Tk 100 crore while 20 thousand people are engaged in the sector directly.
Even amidst the pandemic the import of artificial flowers was way high.
According to the annual import report of the National Board of Revenue, decor items worth Tk 10.68 crore were imported in Fiscal Year 2018-19, Tk 10.83 crore in FY 2019-20 and Tk 11.10 crore in FY 2020-21.
Why people use artificial items
Natural flowers can be used only once while their artificial peers lifelong. In addition, the feigned items cost less and are very many types that give the aesthetes a licence to choose from.
A Merul Badda resident Jannat Ara Meghla purchased artificial flower plant at Tk 5,000.
Asked why she went for the fake item, Jannat said: “I have many a natural flower in my house, but they are just for once, while I can use this artificial product for long and it sells cheap either.”
A beauty shop owner Selina Akter on elephant road in Dhaka said: “When I use natural flower for decoration I have to take care of it like changing water several times. But this unnatural one could be hassle-free.”
A schoolteacher Kamrunnahar Keya maintained that she is so busy with her profession that she hardly finds any time to tend to natural flower.
“Even there is no space to keep natural flower in my house. So I prefer an artificial one,” argued the woman.
According to Rony Barman, manager, Italian Optical House at Moghbazar, natural flowers cannot be kept indoors particularly in air-conditioned rooms while artificial ones do.
“We keep natural flowers outside since they require light and wind and artificial flowers inside to decorate our outlet,” Rony reasoned out.
Cottage industry mushrooming across the country
The country’s cottage industry is popping up driven by the demand for artificial items. The manufacturers mostly women are making contrived items like flower ornaments.
Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) provides training on how to make artificial items to entrepreneurs.
The homemade pretended ornaments are high in demand to shops selling wedding materials. The entrepreneurs supply to parlours the products that bear a big market value.
Nilufar Yeasmin, a BSCIC trainer, said: “We have already trained 360 people on making flower. After the training many have become entrepreneurs and well-established.”
Crafty Sakhita is a training institution that provides training on how to make imitated ornaments.
Samiha Nowrin, owner of the institution, said: “Nearly 40 of our students found job in artificial ornament manufacture industry. Around three thousand people are involved in this particular sector across the country.”
Irin Hossain Oppre, owner of Oppre Online Shop, stated that she was mainly involved in clothing business, but recently she has started making weeding ornament for women as it is much sought-after.
“If it goes well, I will invest more in the sector,” she pointed out.
Ayesha Akter Sathi from Rajshahi who was involved in handmade dress now started making ornaments sensing their huge demand.
“I went for the business just two months ago. In every month I am receiving around 40-45 orders mostly from beauty shop owners. I hope I will get more orders in the days to come,” said the entrepreneur.
Accessories-based factories in Dhaka
The country is mostly depending on China for raw materials of artificial relief items. Several factories have grown riding on the accessories demand. The manufacturers vow to diversify their products.
According to the data of Jori Manufacturers and Business Association, some 200 shops deal in imitated ornament in Dhaka while around 100 small and medium factories have developed across the capital including in Kamrangirchar and Mirpur.
Mohammd Jahir, a manufacturer in Kamrangirchar, said this type of business has now got to villages as it requires a little investment and working knowledge.
“In my factory there are 20 people engaged in making ornament. I can earn Tk 10 lakh per month,” he gave an estimate.
Md Ismail Hossen Alamgir, proprietor of APP Manufacturer, explained that some 150 people work in his factory and some are involved in diversifying their products.
According to the owner of Mizan Enterprise in Mirpur, “We sell around Tk 10 lakh a day and the demand for decorative items is increasing. There is a huge opportunity for employment in the sector.”
Natural flower business in crisis
With the increasing demand for artificial flower, natural flower business sees a setback. The florists claimed that their sale has dropped due to the massive use of artificial items.
To protect the country’s flower industry they said it is necessary to decrease the use of artificial flower as these are harmful for environment.
Md Juel Ahamed, proprietor of Malancha Puspo Centre at Shabag, opined that people are now using artificial flowers for their reusability.
“Our sale has dropped. We cannot make a sale as we did earlier due to the use of plastic-made flower,” he claimed.
Ahsan Ullah, president, Bangladesh Flowers Growers and Exporters Association, narrated that their business nosedives due to the wide use of artificial flowers.
He urged the government to impose more tax on artificial flower import and inspire natural flower cultivation.
Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) General Secretary Sharif Jamil said soil and water bear the brunt of heavy use of plastic.
“We have to control its use for building a better Bangladesh for our posterity and should encourage the use of natural products,” he added.
