At least one segment of the nation’s traditional economy — grass-based brooms woven by the unorganised sector and poor roadside dwellers — has suffered loss due to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, launched in 2014, as synthetic fibre-made brooms have become increasingly popular.

“In India, an estimated 20 crore traditional, grass-based brooms are sold annually. But these brooms shed a lot of dust the first few days and are not very durable. Synthetic fibre-based, no-dust brooms are now the preferred, durable buys,” Jatin Gala, Chief Operating Officer, Freudenberg Gala Household Products Pvt Ltd (FGHP), told BusinessLine . In 2014 alone, the company sold 60 lakh synthetic brooms, he said.

He added that a synthetic broom is priced around ₹168 but lasts three times longer than the grass-based ones.

It cannot be ascertained how many synthetic brooms are being sold by other comanies, but these are certainly replacing their traditional counterparts rather rapidly.

In fact, the Swachh Bharat scheme has increased this segment’s growth by 3-5 per cent. FGHP has witnessed 25-50 per cent growth year-on-year, said Gala.

India’s cleanliness sector is worth about ₹4,500 crore in terms of tools, equipment and waste management implements used, with FGHP holding a 10 per cent market share. The urban segment is worth about ₹2,500 crore — the floor and toilet cleaning sub-segments are the biggest.

FGHP has a manufacturing facility at Ada in Anand district of Gujarat, where it manufactures various branded products. Over the last seven years, it has invested ₹45 crore in this facility. Plans are afoot for an R&D centre and also a second plant by 2020 at the same venue.

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