Please don’t BUY velvet pencils – 2 Reasons why you shouldn’t!

I want to be a doctor.

I want to be a teacher.

I want to be a superstar.

I want to be a engineer.

I want to be an architect.

Do you know whose words are these?

No, they aren’t of a person who is deciding what to do with their career after they have graduated. In fact, these words are spoken by our beautiful small children as soon as they learn how to speak and write.

Do you remember those times when you would run around the house screaming and chanting, ‘When I grow up I will be a doctor, just like my mom/dad.’ You would scribble these words with different velvet colour pencils in your personal diaries and even across your homes on walls, cupboards, and beds.

Even at this young age, our children taught us one important lesson. There is no age to dream big and there is no dream too big that cannot be achieved.

All you need is a clear, innocent mind and a guiding element.

But, what is this element that supports our children throughout their lives?

Parent’s, Teacher’s? Yes, ofcourse. But other than that there is one more element.

It is a 19 cm long object, mostly created in a cylindrical shape.

A pencil.

A pencil is the backbone of every child’s dream. The pencil supports the child since the time he began colouring in those endless colouring books. In that phase, the vibrant velvety colour pencils taught him how to colour, taught him the names of different objects he would colour, but most importantly it taught him that whatever happens, life will always be colourful when colour pencils are with him.

Later, that excited, bubbly child joined a play school. A school where he made new friends and commenced the process of learning. A place where alphabets and numbers were introduced to him. He was taught how to write between the lines of his note book. In this stage, the velvet pencil was always ready with it’s dark lead and smooth texture to make A,B,C,D and 1,2,3,4 easy and fun to learn.

How are velvet pencils affecting the planet adversely?

Velvet is made from cheap polyester material which is not biodegradable. It takes years to get decomposed, which is why it is not environment-friendly at all. Velvet pencils used to be made with silk earlier; however, their quality has fallen low by the manufacturers to gain profits. 

Should I stop using velvet pencils?

If you ardently care about your environment, you should. Velvet pencils are used by children often for attraction. For the mere sake of making the product look beautiful, most manufacturers recklessly harm the environment with irreversible damage. You should stop using velvet pencils and start using recyclable pencils, which are not made of artificial silk. 

What can I use in place of velvet pencils?

Don’t worry. We are for you. If you are wondering what can you use instead of velvet pencils, which are beautiful but eco-friendly, we have plantable pencils. The seeds attached to these pencils can be sown in soil when the pencil has been used. 

What variety of seeds can I plant with plantable pencils?

There are several seeds that you can get with different vibrant colors of plantable and recyclable newspaper pencils. You can decide on from a wide variety of seeds like onion, tomato, sunflower, and marigold. Seeds of fruits, flowers, and vegetables are separately available with the plantable pencils.

As the child grows up he goes through hectic study schedules, long hours of work and many ups and downs in his life. But like a real hero, the pencil is still there by his side whenever it is needed. Helping him to find the ‘x’ of Mathematics, learning the confusing science formulae, memorising the history dates or studying the entire globe, the pencil was always there.

Now, comes the time when he had to appear for the most awaited and feared exams. The Final Exam! The pencil’s role here, is not just of support. A pencil becomes the child’s partner during this exam. He shows faith and trust in him and encourages him to do the best he can. The pencil, who doesn’t receive acknowledgement, is one of the main reasons for him to clear these exams.

That pencil is like a mother. It keeps doing innumerable favours on us so we get the best in life without asking for anything in return.

Today, the small toddler has evolved into a full grown man. A man who graduated with high grades and has become what he had dreamt.

Across the globe, you will see plenty of Doctors, Teachers, Architects, Engineers working exceptionally hard in their lives. But guess what?

Even today, their hand still holds a pencil.

Some things never change.

Though, he made his life, but growing up he simultaneously destroyed another life.

Can you imagine whose life this could be?

NATURE. He disturbed the life of our mother nature.

His constant velvety support was actually manufactured out of a material that is not nature friendly.

Why do we quote, ‘velvet is not a safe material for our planet?’

Initially,  yes, the smooth and shiny texture of velvet was woven out of silk.

But, today’s fast fashion, expensive, and impatient world has replaced the natural materials with cheap and artificial ones.

Most of the industries use our nature’s worst enemy, ‘polyester’ in place of silk to deliver the velvet pencils that countless number of children demand every single day.

How does polyester, used in velvet pencils shorten the lifespan of our mother earth?

• Polyester derived from petroleum is an absolutely non biodegradable product.

And, it’s best shot to even biodegrade partly will be approximately after 200 years.

Now that’s a scary number.

• In addition, an energy-intensive heating process is needed to manufacture polyester used to create velvet for velvet pencils. That leads to using excessive quantities of fresh water for its cooling.

So let’s fasten our seat belts and be ready to welcome a world whose ambience will not be green trees and serene blue water but instead be non biodegradable velvet pencils forever.

Is it really worth to shine in life over our green and blue globe’s misery?

Only a miracle can save us from this harmful velvet hole we have dug since childhood.

In this world of careless consumption, Pepaa is here to save our environment and promote a sustainable living. Pepaa urges every budding child to use its handmade recycled and plantable paper pencils. Pencils designed by our team are not only eco-friendly, but are made with love and precision.

Everytime you outgrow our pencils, just sow the seeds attached to them into a pot and water them to grow your own personal tree. With Pepaa pencils, every child will build their career and contribute to a greener environment.

Say No To Velvet and Yes To Pepaa’s recyclable and 100% biodegradable pencils.