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Green Back to School Time: What's the Most Eco-friendly Pencil?

eco-friendly pencil report cardOne benefit of my children attending a one room school house is we don’t get the ubiquitous back to school list of school supplies.  There’s no place to shop for these supplies in our little town of 200, and most families could not afford the extensive list common to suburban schools.  No matter where they live, one thing all children need for school is pencils, but what is the most eco-friendly option for these graphite writing utensils?

Pencils are made from wood, and although it is hard to imagine forests are clearcut for the little bit of wood in a pencil, they are.  Many pencil manufacturers buy their wood from Sierra Pacific Industries, which is notorious for irresponsible logging practices, such as clearcutting and use of herbicides on plantations.  Forturnately, Forest Ethics has rated pencil manufacturers on the amount of pre- and post-consumer recycled content in their products, whether they are made Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified lumber, and whether the lumber is purchased from Sierra Pacific Industries.  According to Josh Buswell-Charkow of Forest Ethics:

Parents don’t want their children using pencils which degrade California’s landscape, drinking water, or species, and the top companies on our report card show that there’s a better way. Those big companies that earned ‘F’s, however, are like the students in the back of the class with pencils in their ears and their heads in the clouds while the rest of the class leaves them behind.

PENCIL GRADES REPORT SUMMARY:

ForestChoice: A
Greenline Paper Company: A
Green Apple: C
Paper Mate: C
Dixon/Ticonderoga: F
USA Gold: F

We need to consider the impact of even the smallest items we purchase on our environment. There is no reason to make pencils from clearcut forests.  As far as greening your child’s back to school list, remember you don’t have to buy everything new on the list.  Your child can use the crayons, scissors, rulers, etc. he/she already owns.  You will save money and your child will learn to the importance of even small decision on our environment.

Image: Forest Ethics

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  • Back to School – Keeping Lunch Green
  • Can You Imagine Your Kids Going to School 4 Days a Week?
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Comments

  1. Greene Onion says

    August 27, 2008 at 6:39 am

    Great post! I never even considered the pencils my children use at school. Thanks for opening my eyes!

    Reply
  2. Nimic @ The Green Routine says

    August 27, 2008 at 7:09 am

    I guess kids would probably lose it, but why not a mechanical pencil? Properly cared for, it could last for years.

    Reply
  3. Jackalope says

    February 24, 2009 at 11:26 am

    Don’t know why O’BON pencils weren’t even considered, This study was done in San Francisco too! Anyway, you might wanna check out their website. They claim the world’s greatest pencil, made from newspaper. Think they would trump any other pencil. But then again, this report might be specific to wood pencils only.

    Reply
  4. Jackalope says

    February 27, 2009 at 3:55 pm

    http://www.myobon.com

    Reply
  5. Joanna says

    August 5, 2011 at 1:52 am

    I agree that pencils made from recycled paper is environmentally-friendly,but do anybody hear about one greener pencil made from 100% recycled plastic.We are trying to promote this kind of green pencils so that more people around the world can act locally to protect our Mother Earth globally.
    Our company site is http://www.lucher.com.cn thanks.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Back To School: Sustainable School Supplies says:
    December 10, 2009 at 9:15 pm

    […] a few FSC #2 pencils, recycled notebook paper, and a Eco Dog Stapler into your child’s organic cotton backpack and […]

    Reply

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About Eco Child’s Play

Our ethos is to provide news, information, and opinions on natural, green parenting to help your family live a greener, healthier life! Additionally, we offer personal consulting services to help you achieve your green living goals.

Jennifer is a vegetarian, yoga teacher, gardener, hiker, teacher, and mother that has been living off-the-grid for over 20 years.

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