Raksha Bandhan is a day for love, good vibes and, in some cases, a short truce between siblings. Traditionally, a sister ties a rakhi, or a talisman, around her brother’s wrist. It symbolizes hope for his safety. The brother, in turn, hands her a small gift or a token. We may spend the rest of the year bickering and arguing, but on this one day, it’s “us against the world!”
Gift giving is a huge part of the holiday season. With Raksha Bandhan coming up in August, it may be time to put your thinking caps on.
It’s quite popular to buy your sister something she’d love to wear. In fact, most fashion sites will offer huge blowout sales around this time. Often, however, these products are not the most sustainable choices. Not only do they go through an ecologically harmful manufacturing process, but they also use raw materials that are damaging.
OurBetterPlanet has made gifting for Raksha Bandhan special by curating hampers and offering a beautiful collection of Rakhis that are thoughtfully handmade using upcycled material, metal art, crochet and even plantable ones . So if you’re here looking for gift ideas for a sibling we have a few sustainable alternatives to choose from!
Rakhi Hampers
This 'Feel Good Hamper' by OurBetterPlanet has two plantable rakhis by Beejpatra, handmade soaps of natural material & essential oils, kumkum & rice and delicious chocolate, packaged in palm leaves basket than can be reused as storage for nick-nacks.
There are many more options to choose in hampers like the Therapeutic or Aromatic or Jewellery or the special one for Kids.
The practical range of rakhi hampers have smart looking diaries of different sizes, chord organisers, pen stands, file for notes, all combined with handcrafted rakhis with sustainable materials
Set of 3 Artisanal Rakhi
This gift set has 3 pieces of 100% upcycled handmade Rakhi by Lukka Chuppi. It comes in a box with a bottle of kumkum & chokha (rice)
Lukka Chuppi is known for its handcrafted, up-Cycled, zero-Waste and self-assembled products. The brand is committed to creating innovative, effective and sustainable designs. They offer handcrafted contemporary home decor, stationery, and lifestyle products from upcycled leftover fabric and non-animal-based materials, collected from various cultures. Drawing inspiration from minimalistic origami techniques, they aim is to make products that celebrate aesthetics while being socially and ecologically responsible.
Patachitra Tree Rakhi
The traditionally handcrafted rakhis by Froggmag show love and affection in the traditional way possible. These rakhis are designed using metal alloy and glass creating a beautiful product that can find more use as jewellery or a decorative piece compared to other plastic use & throw alternatives. These are made by local artisans skilled in metal work and glass making, thereby preserving traditional skills. The design seen in this Rakhi is a tree of life in Patachitra art form.
Froggmag offers an interesting collection of products for people looking for rustic and age-old traditional craft imbibed in many items. Their products are ethically made and sustain a group of talented craftsmen who work tirelessly to preserve India's culture and tradition. One can choose from refrigerator magnets with elements from the Taj Mahal and other heritage monuments, bookmarks that capture the colours of local bazaars, jigsaw puzzles with tribal, folk and miniature paintings, notebooks with tribal art, memory games, home decor and more.
Shades of Coral Set
This crocheted multi-colored rakhi has a wonderful combination of pink and orange, symbolizing Gulal and Kesari - one of the most natural Indian colors. Crochet Rakhis are made from natural cotton threads that are woven and intertwined together to form clusters of patterns. These patterns are grouped together to form shapes that are woven into a thread to create rakhi. They are soft owing to natural material and elegant on the hands and can be worn for a long period of time.
Unpurl was born out of rediscovering this joy of hand-knitting and crocheting. All their products are handmade, supporting livelihoods and empowering women to be self-sufficient and be able to make a worthwhile income out of it. These women could be the women of our house, our house-helps making a side income in their spare time or anybody who wishes to learn the skill and contribute.
Rakhis with Plantable Seeds
“रोपन” a collection of plantable seed bands by Ba No Batwo. After the use as Rakhis, these can be sowed in your garden and see a beautiful transformation of this bond of love grow into a beautiful plant. These seed Rakhis are handmade with Karanja seed shells, which are hand painted in traditional art form.
Ba No Batwo is focussed on creating products like jewellery, rakhis, masks and some items of decor by up cycling used PET/glass bottles, cosmetic containers, old clothes and textile waste together with other earth friendly materials. The company attempts to amalgamate the arts, crafts and design ideas with the reusable waste and create sustainable products.
Red & Cream Rose Rakhi for Bhabhi
This rakhi is from the Bhai-Bhabi collection by Moralfibre. This is made of totally biodegradable materials and made by a Self Help Group of artisan women. Once the festivities are over, we request you to plant it with the seed paper at the back, water them, and it will blossom into a Tree for Life.
Moralfibre is a company that operates with belief of ‘cradle to cradle‘ approach; they deal in socio-economically sustainable fabric and clothing range made from natural materials like cotton, silk and wool. The products are handcrafted in artisanal clusters and utilises traditional hand weaving and printing methods.
These are just few of the amazing collection of Rakhis and Rakhi hampers available on OurBetterPlanet, for the full listing, make sure you visit the Gifts Category on www.ourbetterplanet.com
