With drones taking over light shows, we looked into how sustainable the tech really is.
Are drones better than fireworks for light shows? Short answer, yes. Although, the global drone industry and international trade reveals a slightly more complex picture.
Recently, the US announced a years’ worth of celebrations leading up to 4 July 2026 to mark 250 years since the country signed the Declaration of Independence.
Invariably, the year-long celebrations are bound to include fireworks, something president Donald Trump is a fan of, as shown in his repeated usage of the pyrotechnic devices at events and rallies. 4 July celebrations in the US are also commonly linked to large firework displays.
The $2bn US firework industry, however, is under threat by Trump’s tariffs. The country imports nearly all of its fireworks from China, with US consumers purchasing around 137,000 tons of fireworks every year.
With a 30pc tariff placed on Chinese imports, buyers of fireworks in the US will be faced with lower product selections and higher prices.
Cost considerations aside, fireworks are known to be extremely polluting, emitting gasses such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, as well as fine particular matter – less than 2.5 micrometres in diametre. These particles can penetrate our lungs, increasing the risk of severe respiratory illnesses.
Moreover, they cause severe noise and light pollution, have been linked to bird deaths, and make the ground and water more toxic, harming not just marine life, but humans as well.
Not to mention, fireworks leave a trail of blown-to-shreds non-recyclable trash once they’re done being used.
And not just this, global firework production, which is majorly situated in countries such as China, is associated with child labour and forced labour, according to data from the US government.
Reports suggest that many of the roughly 450m people that work in the global firework supply chain are young women forced to work under hazardous conditions resulting in not just health complications, but death.
So, drones are better right?
Drones don’t blow up – at least not on purpose. They are reuseable alternatives to fireworks, which when used with artificial intelligence, can create beautiful and artistic aerial light choreography with less of a carbon footprint.
However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that they cause light pollution – which, while being the intention with lighting up the night sky – negatively affects wildlife.
Not to mention that these devices make loud noises. And while not an explosion, they are enough to disturb animals in their vicinity.
In addition, drone production involves the creation of emissions and greenhouse gases. So, it’s not an entirely non-polluting solution.
On the money side of things, the US tariffs on Chinese imports and the reciprocal measures from China are creating an uncertain outlook for the US drone market.
Drones from the Chinese giant DJI are all over the US market, with some estimates suggesting that the company’s drones take up 85pc of the market share in the country.
Although, the company’s future is in rocky waters, with a potential ban from the US market looming.
It’s more complex still. Many US-based drone companies rely on Chinese-made components such as motors, sensors and rare earth materials to build their final product – costs of which are only rising with the tariff war.
In addition, drone production is also linked to forced labour. DJI shipments were held at US customs last October over questions of forced labour of the Uyghur ethnic group currently being persecuted in China. The company, however, denies this.
And that is beside the fact that individual components used in drones such as batteries have been long linked to illegal labour practices, including child labour.
So, here’s something to think about: aren’t the stars just beautiful to look at?
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