"The Papermate Earth Write Pencil"

By Darrel R.
Green Office Store.com's Associate Content Editor
September 1, 2007

In keeping with the trend toward creating and marketing environmentally friendly products, Paper Mate sells the Earth Write Blackcore pencil. According to Brad Kelly, Consumer Affairs Representative for Sanford, which owns the Paper Mate brand, the Earth Write pencils were introduced in February of 1998. They are made from 100 per cent pre consumer waste materials. Pre consumer waste materials are those that have not met their intended end-use by a consumer and include allowable waste left over from manufacturing, converting, and printing processes. Pre consumer waste is the reintroduction of manufacturing scrap, such as trimmings from paper production or furniture manufacturing, back into the manufacturing process. Pre consumer waste is commonly used in manufacturing industries and is often not considered recycling in the traditional sense.

What Makes the Earth Write Pencil Special

The Earth Write pencil, with its green, hexagon shaped barrel, non-waxed lead and green non-smudge vinyl eraser, is made from reclaimed wood. Reclaimed wood includes wood taken from old buildings and structures, such as bridges, tunnels, railroad ties, barns, warehouses and mills that are abandoned or torn down. Reclaimed wood also includes wood from orchards that are being replaced or replanted and wood from cut logs abandoned decades or centuries ago during wasteful logging operations. In order to process it, the wood is first salvaged then sent to the mill where the material is de-nailed and milled into its new product, in this case the Earth Write pencil.

Protecting the Environment with Earth Write Pencils

Paper Mate's use of reclaimed wood to manufacture the Earth Write pencil contributes to the prevention of the continued destruction of existing forests. This means it protects trees, watershed health, and habitats for wildlife. Using reclaimed wood also prevents roads from being built-in roadless areas and on lands used by indigenous people. This is a critical element in keeping sensitive forest land off limits to illegal mining, agriculture and settlement. In the form of a small, thin pencil, Paper Mate is making a big impact on environmental conservation.