The gleaming sharp tip of a freshly sharpened nib, a memory of carefree school is what pops up in your minds when you think about pencils. What one tends to ignore is the massive environmental toll the planet pays for creating billions of these wooden writing instruments every year.
Almost a year ago, IT professionals-turned-social activists Divya Shetty and Vishnu Vardhan, who manage Indian Superheroes, an NGO dealing with organic farm products, decided to study the reasons for the rapidly depleting water table. Their research led them to the conclusion that large-scale deforestation plays a major role in this situation. Vishnu says, “We realised that a large percentage of trees were being cut to generate wood to meet the never-ending demand for pencils. For instance, a huge oak tree would yield only about two thousand pencils, which is not even enough to fulfil the basic requirements of a single day in a large school.”
This research was what resulted in Plantcil, a firm that sells pencils made from recycled paper. Vishnu says, “We began in October last year. We decided to source the raw material for the pencils and started by getting old newspapers from students. We collected old newspapers from schools and offered them pencils made from recycled material. It was a win-win situation.”
He adds, “These pencils are manufactured by self-help groups on the outskirts of Coimbatore. Unlike the usual method of pressing graphite between two wooden pieces, these pencils are made by rolling up the recycled paper on the graphite. We have seen a huge demand for these pencils. It is our way of reducing the carbon footprint and giving back to the community. We have sold nearly two lakh pencils. We are also working on fruit and seed pencils, filled with real fruit extracts and rainbow pencils that offers a lot of colours when it is sharpened.”
The duo feel that sustainable living must be the norm and not just a fancy trend. “We have priced it at par with normal pencils. We also make sure that wastage is kept at the bare minimum. We hope these pencils become more popular and we can save more trees.”
Apart from these pencils, S and D International, a New Delhi-based firm is among many others retailing pencils made from the neem tree. They are eco-friendly, anti-bacterial, non-toxic and are made of the neem twigs obtained. They are also known as herbal pencils.
The pencils are available online e commerce platforms and Plantcil.com.