Considered a dying industry till a few decades back, the traditional ways of making paper from organic wastes and rags are making a big comeback, thanks to people becoming more conscious of the novelty, variety and eco-friendly nature of hand-made paper.
The industry is transforming into a multi-crore enterprise with more than Rs 122 crore (Rs 1.22 billion) production output annually. This is expected to increase manifold in the coming few years, says the ministry for agro and rural industry.
Private retailers estimate it to be as high as Rs 400-500 crore (Rs 4 to 5 billion). "This huge difference in estimate is because most big retailers do not report all their sales and many production units and conversion units are unregistered," says H P Khatri, development officer in the Khadi and Village Industry
Commission, the government branch that deals with the handmade paper industry and other Khadi products.
"The new generation is increasingly accepting it as an alternative for normal paper. This has led to a spurt in the growth of the industry with about 3800 units functioning presently, providing more than 28,000 rural artisans with a livelihood," says Khatri.
"However, many are ailing or shutting down, the main reason being failure to promote themselves," he says.
"The growth is higher in the export market with the US, Europe and Australia being the main importers. S K Bansal, a handmade paper retailer says that the domestic market is growing at 10 per cent every year while the export market is growing at 25 per cent.
"This is because western societies are more aware of these kinds of products. They can afford it while it is still too costly for many Indians."
Retailers and even the government officials concede that a majority of consistent buyers in India are from the upper spectrum of society because of its relatively prohibitive cost as compared to mill-made papers.
Bansal says that the domestic market can still be considered seasonal, with majority of the sales coming from greeting cards and invitation cards.
But today's trend setting generation is becoming increasingly aware of its significance due to its novel look, exotic texture and most importantly its eco-friendly nature, thereby giving it a moral edge over cheaper, tree-consuming mill papers.
"Handmade paper, especially greeting cards and wedding cards are gaining popularity among Indians. Majority of the domestic use is in making cards," says Khatri, although he admits that the high cost still prevents many from using them.
"Even though the industry is environment-friendly, and provides thousands of rural artisans with a livelihood, the government does not provide us with any subsidy," says Bansal.
"The technology requires huge amounts of human labour and the raw materials are very costly, so a subsidy is essential to make hand-made papers accessible to the masses."
Even the government acknowledges that the industry is one of the major rural industries and plays a major role in sustaining the Khadi industry. But Khatri retorts that although there are no direct subsidies, the government is actively promoting it by organising conferences, fairs, buyer-seller meet etc.
Despite the high cost, the 'trendy' tag seems to be catching up with the masses as more people and organisations, from NGOs and charity institutions to schools and religious bodies are using handmade paper to make cards and invitation letters to further their cause.