Up, up and away... but not gone! When we release balloons, they don't just disappear - they end up as litter, posing a serious threat to wildlife on land and in water. Our "No Balloons Please" movement takes a strong stand for the planet. It encourages all citizens to celebrate without balloons, just as earlier generations did. Many are unaware of the harmful effects of balloons on our environment and wildlife. They may bring momentary joy, but the damage they cause is lasting – be it to our animals, birds, marine life, even babies who have choked by swallowing balloon fragments.

 

Through this campaign, we wish to create awareness and ease out balloons in celebrations, whatever the occasion, to protect our precious ecosystems. Since 2018, we have focused on creating relevant resources that help to spread this message - including our #GreenPatriots campaign, inviting children to send in pictures of alternative decorations they have created, and providing a number of DIY ideas for earth-friendly cloth and paper decorations. We have worked to identify vendors who create and sell such products to make the process of switching to alternatives easier. 

 

Additionally, there are steps we have been taking to address this issue at multiple levels.

 

Through policy: 

In August 2023, we expanded the No Balloons Please movement with our petition to the Prime Minister. This pushes for action that can ease balloons out of year-round national celebrations, as well as larger policy shifts around production and sales of balloons.

CLICK HERE to read the petition and the reasons that balloons need to be eased out. We need your support to sign and share it.

 

At a government level:

In addition to the petition, we have used a variety of other methods to appeal to the government on this issue. In June and July 2024, we used the mygov portal to appeal to the PM to address this issue on Mann Ki Baat, specifically in the context of balloons released as a part of Independence Day celebrations. Find more details on this appeal here.

 

With corporations and organisations:

As individuals, we have the power to influence decisions made by corporations and organisations around us. Beautiful Bharat has reached out to multiple schools, apartments, stores, and other establishments to introduce the movement and get their support by ensuring no balloons used in decorations in their spaces.

​

As individuals and communities: 

Behaviour change begins at home, and with this campaign, the first step is to ensure that we ourselves celebrate without balloons. We can then further spread this message among our friends, families, and communities.

You can find our awareness posters and videos here, which include many wonderful alternatives to balloons – earth-friendly decorations of cloth, paper or flowers that can be reused, recycled or composted after the celebration. Try them out and send us pics of your decorations by tagging us on social media, and do share more ideas that we can make popular.
 

Let’s agree that balloons no longer find a place in celebrations of today’s stressed environment and each do our bit to change the way we celebrate – so that our Mother Earth can celebrate too!