Raksha Bandhan is an Indian special festival of love between siblings. Every year on this day, sisters tie decorative bracelets (rakhis) to their brother’s wrist, symbolizing care. In return, the Brothers pledge to safeguard their sisters and offer gifts, which denote their love.
But, for once, consider this earth as your sibling. Do you think the synthetic rakhis you use will benefit the environment? The answer is a big NO!
To get the best rakhi sisters do a lot of shopping. But, if you are not buying eco-friendly Rakhis, then indirectly, you are being responsible for polluting the environment.
Most conventional rakhis often used by you or even me are made from non-biodegradable materials that are the cause of environmental pollution. In contrast, eco-friendly rakhis are made from biodegradable materials like recycled paper, jute, or organic cotton which help reduce waste and protect natural ecosystems, and preserve the planet for future generations.
It’s high time to buy or encourage the use of such plantable eco-friendly rakhis to create a special bond with their sibling and the earth.
What is Eco-friendly Rakhi?
Eco-friendly rakhis are prepared from organic materials that can easily decompose in the environment. These organic materials can be natural wool, seeds of plants, plant-based ingredients, or anything which doesn’t harm the environment.
In this digital era and with the availability of e-commerce, one can find different types of attractive, eco-friendly, and sustainable rakhis. But, when you buy rakhis online, make sure the packing details are also eco-friendly. When you want to take a step towards protecting the environment, you shouldn’t encourage non-degradable packing.
Benefits of Eco-friendly Rakhis
1. They can be broken down naturally in the environment.
In contrast to their plastic counterparts, eco-friendly rakhis are constructed entirely of organic, biodegradable materials. Carrot seeds and Tulsi are two of these components. Everything about these rakhis is eco-friendly; even the packaging is eco-friendly, which is very crucial.
2. Plantable
Not only that, but a few of these rare rakhis may be planted in a container and nurtured into a flourishing garden shrub or tree with just some water, sunlight, and organic fertilizer.
If you still feel like throwing them away, know that they will either convert into manure or a plant and won’t harm the environment.
3. Meaningful Presents.
You can think of these as gifts as well as rakhis. For example, the rakhi kits you buy may include a plantable pen or pencil whose ink can be grown from seeds (like a tomato or a marigold). Get them a coir pot, organic fertilizer, a custom postcard, and name tags.
4. Contribute to Environmental Preservation.
Experts say that we have significantly less time to save the environment, and even a small step from us would be an excellent benefit for mother earth.
Plantable Rakhis are on trend
There are different types of eco-friendly rakhis, but however, many among us know about the rakhis, which can be plantable after Raksha Bandhan. One of the problems after Raksha Bandhan is the increasing wastage.
Through synthetic rakhis, we can face waste disposable problems. Using a plantable rakhi can be the solution for this. This rakhi has different seeds like tulsi, carrot, etc., which can be plantable in your garden.
These days, veganism has been increasing day by day. From food to makeup products, many people are strictly following veganism. Some people may think that the thread of the rakhis is made up of wool from animals. But, organic plantable rakhis contain natural handspun organic cotton, which is suitable for a vegan. So, everybody can use these eco-friendly rakhis.
Why should we use Plantable eco-friendly Rakhi or Seed Rakhi?
Microorganisms in our environment digest a substantial portion of the garbage we produce. And they do an excellent job of preventing pollution; however, they can only effectively digest organic, easily biodegradable trash.
The rakhis you tie on your brother yearly are typically made of non-biodegradable materials and things that can’t be recycled, all in the name of celebration. Things like plastic and metal remain forever without breaking down and are terrible for the environment. Instead, they accumulate over decades or centuries, causing environmental damage and climate change.
As soon as this garbage is deposited into an already clogged landfill, it begins to poison the soil as well as groundwater. This leads to water and soil pollution, which can affect our health. Also, when these non-biodegradable things enter the ocean, marine life is harmed, causing their lives in danger.
That’s why it is high time we start to use sustainable rakhis and serve our way to save the environment. Along with rakhis, siblings should also use sustainable gift ideas to take a step further to favor the earth.
Best Eco-friendly Plantable Rakhi
DIY ideas for Eco-friendly and Sustainable Rakhi
Agree with it or not, making a rakhi with your own hands for your sibling is far more satisfying than buying it from others. If you don’t have time to go shopping or can’t order any eco-friendly rakhi online, you can make one at home using the available ingredients. You can find several videos on youtube regarding this. Let us look at some ideas.
1. Rakhi with old cloth:
This may sound weird, but it would turn into an attractive rakhi. You will need a scissor, old cloth, bio-degradable cardboard, and glue. If the fabric you use is unattractive, you may require organic paintings or colors. You can also use patch works and designs from another cloth to decorate it.
2. Rakhi with beads:
This type of rakhi can be reusable. You can use different types of beads and organic cotton to prepare a rakhi. After Raksha Bandhan, you can remove these beads and can use them for other purposes like stitching on dresses or making jewelry, etc.
3. Rakhis with coconut shell:
This is somewhat difficult to make. But if you want, you can make one using coconut shell, organic cotton, natural glue, and biodegradable colors.
4. Rakhis with organic cotton:
These types of rakhis are comparatively simple to make. You just need to buy different colors of organic cotton available in the market and can prepare different models of rakhis.
5. Rakhis with jute:
Jute is commonly available in normal Indian households. You can create an attractive and unique rakhi using this jute, organic colors, and natural glue.
6. Edible Rakhi:
Did you ever think that edible items in your kitchen, like sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and rice grains, can be used to prepare rakhis? Yes, you read it correctly! You can prepare rakhis using these items. You can use any food item according to your creativity. But make sure to use only edible colors while making the rakhi.
You can get creative and build DIY rakhis from biodegradable, eco-friendly, recyclable, and sustainable materials. Doing so will bring you joy and help save the earth.
Eco-friendly Gift Ideas for Sisters on Raksha Bandhan
Air-purifying plant
An air-purifying beautiful plant like a lucky bamboo or a money plant not only brightens up your sister’s room but also purifies the air. Undoubtedly valuable gift.
Travel-friendly Cutlery or Reusable Straws
After a long search, I stumbled upon this great concept of Travel-friendly Cutlery and reusable straws. Cutlery & reusable straws made from wood or steel. So, sisters no need to use single-use harmful plastic cutleries
Tote Bags
Good quality tote bags are another great and environmentally friendly gifting option for sisters on Raksha Bandhan. As we know our sisters always need to carry a ton of stuff around!
Water Bottles
Water bottle daily used item to transform this into a special gift you can customize it according to her liking.
Organic skincare products
As with any other girl, if your sister loves to use skin care products, then she will love natural ingredient-based skincare products as a gift.
Tips for Celebrating a Sustainable Raksha Bandhan
Tips that you can try to make your Raksha Bandhan Sustainable.
Buy or Create Eco-friendly Rakhis:
Purchase or make these 100 percent biodegradable plantable eco-friendly rakhis at home, made from sustainable materials like jute, cotton, or recycled paper.
Gift Sustainable Products:
Environment-friendly gifts such as reusable bags, bamboo-made products, or plants are the best sustainable options to give someone as a gift that doesn’t even affect the environment and promotes sustainability.
Avoid Overuse of Plastic Packaging:
Remember Celebrating festivals sustainably focuses on reducing waste. So, Instead of wrapping gifts with plastic covers, using tape, plastic ribbons, etc. use old newspapers or recycled papers.
Donate:
Instead of spending money on lavish celebrations, donate your old stuff to needy people, or environmental organizations. Surely, It will make you more happy & your Raksha Bandhan more meaningful.
Conclusion
We must take decisive action to safeguard our planet in light of how quickly time is passing and how the needs of humans are growing.
Thus, this year, make Raksha Bandhan eco-friendly by tying the tie of protection to your brother and the earth with a plantable Rakhi and contribute your step to making our traditions eco-friendly and sustainable.
Q1. How are Plantable Eco-friendly rakhis different from traditional rakhis?
Plantable Eco-friendly rakhis are created using biodegradable materials, such as recyclable paper, which are easily decomposable that helps to reduce waste. On the other hand, traditional rakhis are created with materials that don’t easily decompose like plastic which contributes to Climate Pollution.
