AWARD YEAR
2017
CATEGORY
Home
GOALS
Responsible Consumption & Production
KEYWORDS
sustainable, sprouting products, plantable pencil
COUNTRY
United States of America
DESIGNED BY
Sprout World
WEBSITE
http://sproutworld.com/
Sprout Pencil
The Sprout Pencil shows that it is possible to give a product a new life instead of throwing it away
The Sprout Pencil is the first plantable pencil in the world, and is a response to today’s use-and-throw-away culture. Back in 2012, three students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), came up with the idea behind the pencil, they sold their assets to Sprout, and today Michael Stausholm is the main shareholder and CEO of Sprout World. Sprout Pencil is made out of sustainable wood with a dissolvable capsule containing seeds at the end, instead of the usual eraser. This means that when the pencil becomes too short to write with, do not throw the stub away, plant it and watch cherry tomatoes, basil, calendula or one of the many other varieties grow from the pencil. The Sprout Pencil has been patented and trademarked in Europe, USA and China, just to name a few. Part of the packing is done in a sheltered workshop for people with special needs.
The Sprout Pencil is simple to use, and shows that sustainable products can be pragmatic and comprehensible – but, most important, fun