Raksha Bandhan · 28 August 2026
A rakhi your grandmother would recognise.
somewhere along the way, the rakhi became plastic
Cotton, seed paper, roli, chawal, coconut fibre. Handmade in Agra. The complete ceremony — the way it was done before it came in a foil packet.
Small handmade batch · prepaid · ships pan-India
What a rakhi is made of now
Worn for one morning. Thrown away by evening.
~50 crore
rakhis sold in India every year
CAIT
≈4,000 tonnes
of rakhi waste, by our estimate
Our estimate — method →
~8%
of India's plastic gets recycled
CSIRO
Polyester thread is commonly cited at 20–200 years to break down, the plastic beads 400–500, and the glitter never really does — it just becomes microplastic. And most of it isn't even made here.
The whole ceremony
Most rakhi sets give you a thread. Ours gives you the ritual.
Roli, chawal, thread, blessing — the part almost every other kit leaves out.
Start here
Which one is you?
Four situations, four answers. Pick the line that sounds like your year and we'll take you straight to it.
The classic
The Rose Plantable Rakhi Kit
The whole ceremony in one small box — handmade in Agra, and a pot to plant it in afterwards.
Pick this if you'll be together on the day, or you're posting it home in time.
- Handmade seed paper rakhi on handspun braided cotton thread
- Roli-chawal tilak set — the part almost everyone leaves out
- Coir pot, cocopeat and fertiliser: everything needed to plant it
- Grows into vegetables and wildflowers in 7–14 days
- Five colourways to choose from
Same kit, different soul
The Blooming Tales Plantable Rakhi Kit
For the pair with too many stories to pick just one.
Pick this if you want the same eight pieces, with a different rakhi on top.
- The identical 8-piece kit — tilak set, coir pot, soil and fertiliser
- A floral Blooming Tales rakhi instead of the rose
- Handmade seed paper, hand-seeded, hand-tied
- Five colourways to choose from
The big one
The Mega Plantable Rakhi Gift Kit
Ten plantable pieces, handmade in Agra, he'll still be reaching for at Diwali.
Pick this if he already has everything, or you want this one to actually land.
- The Earth Conscious Mandala — a full plantable colouring book
- Seed paper notebook, pocket notepad, 8 bookmarks, 5 coasters
- 4 postcards, 8 gift tags, 5 envelopes, 4 thank-you cards
- A seed paper rakhi and greeting card
- Every single piece plants when he's done with it
For the miles in between
A Custom Rakhi Page, built by hand
A private web page he opens on his phone — his name on a wax seal, your photos, your voice.
Pick this if he's in another city or country, and a parcel simply won't make it.
- A wax seal with his name, and a quiz only he can pass
- Your real childhood photos and inside jokes, built in
- The aarti, the tilak, and tying the rakhi — on screen
- Your voice note waiting at the end
- Delivered on WhatsApp and email within 24 hours
- One free round of edits included
Made in Agra
The women who make our paper
In Agra, a team of women turn cotton waste into the paper your rakhi is made from. For many of them it was the first job that came with a bank account in their own name.
And it goes all the way down
Even the ink is water-soluble. Even the box composts.
The workshop in Agra runs on solar power. The dyes are water-soluble. The packaging is wood-free and biodegradable. None of it is a headline feature — it's just how Plantables has always made things.
Side by side
Still deciding?
The whole range in one glance — what each one actually is, and who it's for.
Rose Kit
Rs. 899
- What it is
- 8-piece ritual + planting kit
- Arrives
- Posted across India
- Best for
- The classic ceremony
Blooming Tales
Rs. 999
- What it is
- 8-piece ritual + planting kit
- Arrives
- Posted across India
- Best for
- A different design
Mega Gift Kit
Rs. 3,499
- What it is
- 10-piece plantable stationery box
- Arrives
- Posted across India
- Best for
- Going all out
Custom Rakhi Page
Rs. 1,499
- What it is
- Personalized web page
- Arrives
- Within 24 hrs, by link
- Best for
- Long distance
swipe to compare →
Not a new idea
This isn't new. It's the old way.
KVIC, under the Ministry of MSME, sells a natural, chemical-free rakhi — Khadi Rakshasoot — made by rural women, some from cotton and cow dung with seeds pressed in. The Government of India's Mission LiFE, launched with the UN Secretary-General, asks for exactly this: everyday choices that don't cost the planet. A handmade cotton rakhi from Agra isn't a trend. It's the way this festival worked before plastic did.
Before you order
Will the rakhi actually grow?
Yes. The seed paper has real vegetable and wildflower seeds pressed into it. Soak the coins, plant everything under about 5mm of soil, water it daily — first sprouts usually appear in 7–14 days. Which plants come up is part of the surprise.
How limited is “limited”?
Genuinely limited. These are handmade in a small batch and some have already sold through our retail store, so the counts you see on each product page are the real remaining stock — not a countdown gimmick. When a design sells out, it's gone until next Rakhi.
Which should I pick if I'm not sure?
If you'll be together for the ceremony, the Rose or Blooming Tales kit covers everything — including the roli-chawal for the tilak. If you want the gift to keep going for months, the Mega Kit. And if he's far away and the post won't make it, the Custom Rakhi Page arrives in 24 hours as a link.
Can I order more than one?
Yes — more than one brother is the normal case. On the Rose and Blooming Tales kits, two or more of the same design automatically takes 10% off at checkout.
Do you take Cash on Delivery?
No — prepaid only, via UPI, cards or net banking. Keeping it prepaid is part of how we can make a genuinely small handmade batch and still price it honestly.
No garden. Will this still work?
Completely. Every planting kit comes with its own coir pot, soil and fertiliser — a sunny windowsill or balcony is all you need.
Is the packaging eco too?
Yes — wood-free, water-soluble dyes, biodegradable, and the workshop itself runs on solar power. The full material-by-material list is on our materials page.
Is this traditional or just a modern eco product?
Traditional. Cotton thread, roli, chawal, a handmade paper rakhi — this is closer to how a rakhi was made before plastic and foil packets took over, not a new invention. KVIC, under the Ministry of MSME, sells a similar natural rakhi made by rural women under its Khadi Rakshasoot line.
Whichever one you pick, it grows.
Small batch, made by hand, prepaid checkout. When they're gone, they're gone until next Rakhi.
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