DETECTED : Crayons from food waste

Petrochemicals are everywhere, it's cray cray. Take, crayons for example. In general: not eco-friendly at all. Good news! In nature Waste=Food, and so does Food Waste = Crayons. Here's how!

What is this girl doing ?!

I have no idea. Anyway, this week’s newsletter is about Crayons though, so it seemed fitting. As a kid I loved drawing and painting. Crayons were my go-to tools to express my tiny artistic self. In the mean time, I don’t know what happened as today, I can't even draw a straight line. Good I’m doing something else now, like writing this newsletter and building a startup. Let's just say, it's better for humanity I didn't go down that artistic path.

Last week I came across a rather exciting find: a company from Japan is making crayons from FOOD WASTE ! That’s just cray, right!? (ha - ha - ha. Let’s slow clap for this pun, Thank You.) Fashion is not limited to the clothes, shoes, and accessories we wear. It’s actually a verb encompassing how we create products out of materials. Today we talk about fashioning crayons in a circular way.

(Non-)Toxic School Supplies

In particular as a child, one does not think about whether that pencil you are also going to chew on is toxic or not. It’s just somehow comforting to chew on until your mouth turns blue and your mom or teacher grabs it out of your hands, or mouth. Fun over. Today as adults we know better and the environmental impact¹ of these everyday items are astonishing. You can imagine this so I won’t bore you with the facts.

A Japanese company has cracked the code to let young artists continue to express themselves, with crayons made with all-natural ingredients. Amazing !

How are these crayons circular?

My take on this is that these crayons can be called circular for the following reason: food waste is upcycled into a product that adds value to the end user. Upcycling in short means that you upgrade materials to a higher value. What was food waste before, is now the basis for a wonderful product. I reckon it’s a (super climate change conscious) child’s dream come true, literally.

Time for me to channel my inner child and get to practicing drawing a straight line. Wish me luck!

That’s all.

Wishing you a fantastic new week, filled with positivity with a pinch of critical thinking.

Yours,

The Circular Fashion Detective

If you know someone who loves crayons or has someone who does (like a child), then why not share this newsletter fantastic eco-friendly alternative with them!

DISCLAIMER : This post is not sponsored. I genuinely share good examples that I come across during my research hours. I am available for consulting and speaking gigs. To book me, visit my website here.

1. https://blog.thecrayoninitiative.org/the-environmental-impact-of-our-friend-the-crayon