Not all ‘herbal’ gulaal likely to be organic, warn experts

NEW DELHI: As Holi approaches, “organic” and “herbal” colours are flooding the market, billed as safe and eco-friendly alternatives to toxic colours that won’t give users skin problems and rashes.
Experts, however, warn there’s no guarantee that the “herbal” gulaal you buy would be free of chemical toxins.
These “organic” colours are priced more than three times higher, selling at Rs 100-200 per kg as compared to synthetic colours (Rs 30-50).To the naked eye, however, there is no difference other than the price tag.
“The only way to tell the difference is to get it tested. Very few herbal colours are branded. It’s best to buys from a reputed market and avoid those being sold in the open,” said Prashant Rajankar, programme coordinator (environment) at NGO Toxics Link.
Even shopkeepers at many markets do not vouch for the authenticity of the “herbal” colours.
“Eco-friendly colours are becoming popular and we have slowly been increasing the supply of such colours. But they look quite similar to synthetic colours, which are much cheaper. We receive them from the Sadar Bazar wholesale market and don’t know how green they actually are,” said a shopkeeper selling Holi material at the Jangpura market.
At the main Sadar Bazar road, a series of neatly lined sacks are filled with fluorescent colours and hectic negotiations are between dealers and traders from across north India. The air is thick with the names of various colour varieties — mehndi, jamuni, sunehra, saada, pucca. Prices are dirt cheap and health concerns fall low on the priority of buyers.
Ajay Kumar, a dealer in niche Holi merchandise said 95% of the trade is dominated by synthetic colours. “The prices of herbal colours are two-three times higher. Holi is not a very sophisticated festival. People even use dirt and water,” Kumar said. While normal gulaal comes for Rs 30-50/kg, the so called “herbal” variant can cost up to Rs 200/kg. While sprays mostly come from China, open colours, on the other hand, are mainly procured from towns in western UP and Chhattisgarh, such as Hathras, Agra, Meerut and Bhanpuri and Yogi Rakhi, a trader said.
Madhumita Puri from the Society of Child Development, an NGO that makes organic colours from flowers all through the year, says it is next to impossible to manufacture such colours at a cost of Rs 100-200 per kg. The NGO’s colours are sold for around Rs 600 per kg. The flowers are collected from temples by young adults with intellectual disabilities. The flowers are then sorted by their hues to produce pink, yellow, orange and green holi colours.
“The visual difference between synthetic colours and organic colours is in the brightness. Even colours made from roses will be pink, and not bright red. We use yellow and orange marigolds from temples to produce these colours, while leaves when dried can give green colours,” said Puri.
Besides the synthetic gulal, which has a base of silica, much more toxic variants with claims that the “stains will stay for weeks” are also available at Sadar. Silver and gold coloured gels can be procured for as cheap as Rs 40 per kg and small capsules that look like medicines are available in boxes selling for Rs 20.
Bhanumati, a seller, said, “There are 40 capsules in each pack and one capsule is enough for a big bucket of water. The stains won’t go for a week,” she chuckles. Unmarked, unlabelled and without any traceable link to any industry, these toxic colours continue to make up the bulk of sales in Sadar Bazar, from where these reach shops across northern India.
Experts warn that synthetic colours may contain heavy metals like lead, chromium, cadmium, nickel, mercury, zinc and iron. To determine the presence of heavy metals in gulaal, Toxics Link had tested blue and red Holi colours through IIT Kanpur. The findings showed mercury in the red samples, which can affect the central nervous system, while copper was discovered in the blue samples, which can harm the eyes, skin, respiratory system and liver.
The colours can also contain chemicals such as silica and asbestos, which is a carcinogen and can get built up in the body tissue over a period of time.