Rangpur (peacock) Happy Blankets
Sustainable, multi-purpose baby blanket with a vibrant stand-out factor, hand-stitched from four layers of reclaimed and ethically-sourced cotton and embroidered with empowerment by mothers in Bangladesh.
Dimensions: 1m x 75cm
The blanket comes presented in a re-usable cotton drawstring bag, hand-crafted from a vintage sari offcut, with a packaging insert featuring the photo and story of the mother who made it.
The label hand-stitched into the blanket features the geo-coordinates of the village in North-West Bangladesh where it was made, and the maker has hand-embroidered her name and the blanket’s unique number on the label.
Machine washable
Meets BS EN 16779-1:2018 product safety standard
Embroidery design: Our embroidery designs are named after our favourite parts of North-West Bangladesh. Rangpur was the home of the pioneering feminist Begum Rokeya.
Colours: Our bespoke colour palette is named after the mothers who make our blankets and their children.
Every Happy Blanket purchased comes with a unique story attached - and creates an opportunity for a mother in Bangladesh to provide for her children with dignity.
USES:
As practical as they are pretty, a Happy Blanket is highly versatile - they are easy to transport, and can be used for pretty much every task on a busy parent's daily to-do list!
For example:
-as a pram blanket
-as a soft, clean surface for baby to lie or sit on, at home, in the park, on the beach, in a cafe etc.
-as a breastfeeding cover
-to line the pram, giving baby a snug, soft 'bed' to lie on; and even...
-as a makeshift changing mat when the need arises!
The blankets can continue to be used through the years, as babies grow into toddlers and beyond. They’re perfect for keeping cosy when watching a movie on the sofa when the weather is miserable, as a towel on the beach, for building dens, for picnicking, and for toddler tea parties!
HOW IT'S MADE:
Our Happy Blankets rework the Bengali 'kantha' tradition of repurposing old cotton saris into ultra-soft blankets for babies, in order to meet global safety standards, while retaining its circular principles.
Rather than using secondhand saris, we've partnered with a GOTS-certified Bangladeshi garments factory to breathe new life into what's known as 'deadstock cotton fabric, by upcycling it as the inside layers of our blankets. The outside layers are made from traditional handloom fabric, which is hand-woven, and then hand-dyed to our custom colour palette using Oeko-Tek passport-certified dyes.
Instilled with the strength and spirit of the mothers who create them, our blankets are designed to withstand the daily wear-and-tear of life with a little one, and be treasured from child to child. They meet the BS EN 16779-1:2018 product safety standard.
CARE INSTRUCTIONS:
Our blankets get even softer and more nurturing with each wash!
They have all been pre-washed multiple times, to ensure the fabric doesn't shrink and the colours don't run.
Protect the environment: Gentle wash at 30 degrees, with similar colours. Do not tumble dry or dry clean.
Khushi Kantha means “happy blanket” in Bengali – a fitting name for the social enterprise behind these beautifully vibrant baby blankets that do good.
The brand was set up to create sustainable employment for women in Bangladesh, after founder Laura was gifted a bundle of traditional, hand-stitched kantha blankets for her newborn half-Bangladeshi twins. The brand’s artisans are a community of mothers in the village of Rajarampur in north-west Bangladesh.
Khushi Kantha has four key values driving their ethical business. Resilience ensures the blankets are designed to last, instilled with the strength of the mothers who make them. Regeneration centres breathing new life into everything they do, from upcycling materials to regenerating local communities.
Re-envisaging community means the team is always thinking up ways to use collaborative power to build better futures for everyone. And lastly, Khushi Kantha is all about reframing the narrative. They champion “made in Bangladesh” as a statement of pride through their blankets, which show off exquisite local craftsmanship.
The distinctive, high-quality blankets are a handy addition to any new parent’s baby bag, coming to the rescue in all kinds of scenarios. They can double up as a make-shift changing mat, a pram liner, playmat, breastfeeding cover or sunshade.
Each Khushi Kantha blanket arrives in a reusable cotton drawstring bag, handcrafted from a vintage sari off-cut, together with a photo and story about its maker. Follow in the Bangladeshi tradition of gifting one to the parents-to-be in your life.
