The Bangle Industry Of Firozabad Shatters As The West Asia Crisis Drags On

Firozabad, known as the “Glass City of India”, is the global hub for manufacturing glass bangles for over 200 years. The US-Israel war on Iran has impacted the sector.

Updated on: 24 April 2026 2:32 pm

Published at: 24 April 2026 2:25 pm

Photo: Tribhuvan Tiwari/Outlook

Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh is widely known for its indigenous bangles. The glass bangles produced here have brand recognition, which comes from a legacy of glassmaking that was established long ago and continues to have socio-economic importance today. There are numerous family-owned workshops and bodies dedicated to the workmanship of bangles. Firozabad glass bangles come in innumerable distinct forms, for example, lacquer-coated, enamel-painted, mirror or stone-studded, and even innovatively crystallised designs. The industry employs roughly half a million people in hundreds of small-scale, often unorganised, workshops. The bangle industry had been facing a 50 per cent decline due to high fuel prices, competition and declining demand for glass. The ongoing war is breaking the back of the already struggling industry. Text By Swati Subhedar

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Firozabad manufactures 1,500 tonnes of glass bangles per day, providing direct and indirect employment to an estimated five-seven lakh people, supporting the lives of over 50,000 families | Photo: Tribhuvan Tiwari/Outlook

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The flame workers, who form a large chunk of the unorganised sector, use flames fuelled by oxygen and LPG to melt and shape glass rods at high temperatures—the technique of manipulating molten glass directly in the flame enables the creation of intricate items like jewellery beads, small sculptures, decorative pieces, bangles and marbles | Photo: Tribhuvan Tiwari/Outlook

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Since the war began, commercial LPG cylinders, crucial for manufacturing, went missing from Firozabad, even from the black market | Photo: Tribhuvan Tiwari/Outlook

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Nearly 400 craftsmen in Kushwaha Nagar of Firozabad are impacted due to the lack of LPG cylinders | Photo: Tribhuvan Tiwari/Outlook

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Women are also involved in bangle making and selling. Most are involved in putting decorative stuff on the manufactured bangles. “We get Rs 80 for 100 bangles, and we work from evening to night. Usually, the finished bangles are sent to the markets the same evening. But now, they are just stored here in these boxes,” says one. | Photo: Tribhuvan Tiwari/Outlook

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Sadar Bazaar in Firozabad is a hub for bangles. The shop keepers sell locally as well as across the countries. Bangles are also exported from here | Photo: Tribhuvan Tiwari/Outlook

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