10th September 2011
Toys to represent and celebrate Bangladesh
Pebble toys are made in Bangladesh. But lots of things are made in Bangladesh. Just take a look in your own wardrobe and you’ll probably find lots of items from international brands that were made here. Now the garments industry has lots of problems but I don’t want to dwell on that in this blog. Regardless of the problems, the pay and conditions, the alleged exploitation, the forced overtime, the bottom line is that the garments are made by very talented and hard working young women from Bangladesh. At Pebble we wanted to celebrate how great the women of Bangladesh are at making things and so we made a range of animals from Bangladesh.
The most obvious is the Bengal tiger, well known throughout the world and a truly majestic animal. He’s found here in the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world. Our version is rather a cute interpretation with a smiley face who has just this week found fame on huge banners at the Top Drawer London Autumn 2011 trade show trade show as the logo for the children’s section. We’ve also made a gecko and whilst these are prevalent all over South East Asia, the version of the Tokay Gecko that we’ve made is coloured just as we find them here in our houses and know that they are around from the periodic tic-tic-tic noise that they make. We made an otter in this series as well because otters are just so cute and are less frequently made into children’s toys. In the south of Bangladesh they are often used for fishing. The fishermen will attach a lead to the otter and then the otter will dive and catch the fish and bring them back to the fishermen.
The whole range was designed by the wonderful designer Kimberley Walling and we’ve added a little Bangladeshi flag to the tail of each one and with this they proudly tell you – we’re made in Bangladesh. The women working with Hathay Bunano and making the Pebble toys are talented, diligent and hard working; they make gorgeous toys every day and we’re really happy that this range flies the flag for Bangladesh.
