Is industry getting closer to finding alternative fabric for advertising in Bengaluru?

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Council having given its approval for a new draft advertising policy entitled ‘BBMP Outdoor Signage and Public Messaging, 2018’ by which outdoor advertising has been brought to a halt in the city of Bengaluru, there are fresh efforts being made by different quarters of the industry to overcome the ban on use of flex for advertising.

According to a Bangalore Mirror report, BBMP has been approached by certain industry quarters with an alternative fabric for advertising which is apparently a polyester-like textile. On this, the BBMP Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad has been quoted saying that the fabric is “not harmful to the environment and it is bio-degradable”. However, he has also stated, as quoted in the Mirror article, that such material will be permitted for use only on media of projects developed under the PPP model, such as, skywalks, bqs, public toilets, etc.

The moot question is, whether the alternative fabric for advertising is viable for the industry. Meanwhile, there is a representation being made to the concerned authorities in Karnataka that flex by itself is not a risk to the environment as it does not contain any plastics of any significant proportion and that the used flexes are being recycling for a variety other uses.