Over the summer, I’ve been reading Victoria Finlay’s Color: A Natural History of the Palette for my AP Art History class. In her chapter on black and brown, Finlay describes her trip to the Pencil Museum in England, where “a full-scale diagram of the thee-hundred-year-old trunk of a California cedar” was on display, an example of the trees which are often used to make pencils. It occurred to me that, when starting the new school year, as many of us are now, I would often resist my parents suggestions to buy a fresh set of pencils due to the unnecessary plastic packaging, but I rarely thought about the pencils themselves and the immense deforestation that must occur in order for more to be produced year after year after year. I’d always felt that wooden pencils were the more sustainable option, being made out of a biodegradable material, as opposed to plastic mechanical pencils, which, although technically reusable, often broke and needed to be thrown out. Clearly, neither are really sustainable at all.
This wave of understanding left me feeling pretty despondent, so I turned to my trusty friend google, hoping someone had thought of this problem before me and had already come up with the perfect solution. While I definitely didn’t find the “perfect solution” I was looking for, I did find some cool, innovative products that attempt to make up for the ecological damage done by pencils, as well as some other writing utensils. Here are some of the products that I found particularly intriguing, or that made me feel slightly more hopeful:
Sprout Pencils: These pencils contain seeds and are fully biodegradable, so when you’ve worn them down to the smallest stub, you can plant them, and end up with anything from sunflowers to cherry tomatoes! They’re also made from “sustainable sourced wood” (not sure what that means, but hey, it sounds good!) Their only downside is that they don’t have erasers, so you’ll have to buy your own eco friendly erasers to pair them with, or just never make any mistakes.
Onyx and Green Recycled Newspaper Colored Pencils: These colored pencils are made with recycled newspaper, which not only boosts their sustainability, but also gives them a super artsy and—forgive me for saying this—aesthetic look. They’re packaging is made from recycled paper and is 100% plastic free (you can imagine how happy this made me).
Zebra Optex 1 EZ Highlighter: Besides having a killer name, this highlighter has pretty killer sustainability features as well; not only is it made from 98% recycled plastic, but it’s also refillable and extremely sturdy, meaning it can stay out of landfill way longer than your average highlighter (although, as I’m sure you could tell from the name, this is NOT your average highlighter). These also come in a wide variety of vibrant colors.
Pilot Petball Pen: This ballpoint pen is made from more than 90% recycled plastic bottles, and is even designed to resemble its material source, constantly reminding you of your good deed whenever you use it!