Results 1 to 16 of 16

Thread: Pens + sustainability

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Chartres, France
    Posts
    1,137
    Thanks
    2,610
    Thanked 825 Times in 446 Posts
    Rep Power
    13

    Default Pens + sustainability

    I've just started watching the NHK Japanology programme on stationery and that got me thinking about the ecological impact of our pen and ink choices.

    - precious woods: I know Pierre at Desiderata stopped using some hardwoods as a result of sustainability concerns.

    - disposables: mainly applies to BIC and gel pens but I wonder what the carbon footprint of the V-Pen is, great product though it happens to be?

    - inks - what goes into them? if I tip the remains of a mouldy bottle down the sink, what is actually going down there? alternatively I could try putting Diamine Pumpkin in the vegetable bed to see if anything will grow.

    Who knows some of the answers?

    I'd also be interested to know if there are ways for pen makers to have a positive impact, for instance by supporting sustainable forestry. Textile companies now do a lot of work with small local projects ... stationery companies appear to be doing rather more.

    I suspect my pen collection is not a massive user of resources... but I'm intrigued ny the fact that we don't often talk about this aspect of pens, though we talk a lot about air miles of food imports, carbon footprint of housimg and fuel efficiency of cars.

  2. The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to amk For This Useful Post:

    azkid (March 20th, 2019), birch (March 28th, 2019), inklord (March 20th, 2019), Lady Onogaro (March 24th, 2019)

  3. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Posts
    737
    Thanks
    1,209
    Thanked 439 Times in 271 Posts
    Rep Power
    10

    Default Re: Pens + sustainability

    ...nano pigment inks are to be disposed of in a responsible manner when not used up, for example through a municipal special waste collection. vegetable resin and natural hard rubber are biodegradable. buying durable, high quality pens and maintaining them well prevents garbage. and re-purposing packaging materials is important: my LAMY boxes (cardboard!) hold everything from cartridges to SD cards and pen parts, and Franklin-Cristoph's zippered pen pouches are a great example for waste-reduced packaging since the package itself becomes a 20-$-value pen pouch that can also hold other accessories, watches 35mm or less etc. that's about all i know about these issues...

  4. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Chartres, France
    Posts
    1,137
    Thanks
    2,610
    Thanked 825 Times in 446 Posts
    Rep Power
    13

    Default Re: Pens + sustainability

    Oh goodness yes, I hadn't even thought about packaging!

    I suspect the worst offenders there are the blister pack cheapies. Whereas I managed to pick up a lovely Graf von Faber Castell box from a sale - no pen in it, alas, but the lady who sold it me had been using it as a jewellery box for years!

  5. #4
    Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Location
    East Tennessee
    Posts
    82
    Thanks
    14
    Thanked 43 Times in 28 Posts
    Rep Power
    7

    Default Re: Pens + sustainability

    Vintage pens FTW!

  6. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to although For This Useful Post:

    amk (March 22nd, 2019), AzJon (March 28th, 2019), catbert (March 21st, 2019), michaeldoleman (March 22nd, 2019), penwash (March 27th, 2019)

  7. #5
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Posts
    1,712
    Thanks
    4,741
    Thanked 4,642 Times in 1,129 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Pens + sustainability

    There was a related discussion on the Pen Economics blog a while back: Are fountain pens good for the environment?

  8. #6
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Chartres, France
    Posts
    1,137
    Thanks
    2,610
    Thanked 825 Times in 446 Posts
    Rep Power
    13

    Default Re: Pens + sustainability

    Thanks for the link Catbert. That made a fascinating read.

  9. #7
    Senior Member Paddler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
    Location
    Northeast Ohio
    Posts
    468
    Thanks
    61
    Thanked 602 Times in 307 Posts
    Rep Power
    9

    Default Re: Pens + sustainability

    If your ink is getting moldy, it is biodegradable. As a matter of fact, it is already bio-degrading.
    "Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little." -Epicurus-

  10. The Following User Says Thank You to Paddler For This Useful Post:

    Kaputnik (March 30th, 2019)

  11. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Chester, North West England
    Posts
    160
    Thanks
    119
    Thanked 119 Times in 59 Posts
    Rep Power
    6

    Default Re: Pens + sustainability

    [QUOTE=inklord;260996]...nano pigment inks are to be disposed of in a responsible manner when not used up, for example through a municipal special waste collection.

    I wasn't aware that ink was made with nano particles.

    Apart from disposing of unwanted ink, what happens when paper is de-inked for recycling? Do the nano particles go into the ecosystem with the washed out inks?

    And if the paper is sent to landfill and eventually degrades, do the nano particles leach out into the ecosystem?

  12. #9
    Senior Member Kulprit's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Posts
    418
    Thanks
    107
    Thanked 298 Times in 142 Posts
    Rep Power
    7

    Default Re: Pens + sustainability

    [QUOTE=RWS;261501]
    Quote Originally Posted by inklord View Post
    ...nano pigment inks are to be disposed of in a responsible manner when not used up, for example through a municipal special waste collection.

    I wasn't aware that ink was made with nano particles.

    Apart from disposing of unwanted ink, what happens when paper is de-inked for recycling? Do the nano particles go into the ecosystem with the washed out inks?

    And if the paper is sent to landfill and eventually degrades, do the nano particles leach out into the ecosystem?
    Why would nano-pigments be treated any differently than any other pigments?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  13. #10
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Chester, North West England
    Posts
    160
    Thanks
    119
    Thanked 119 Times in 59 Posts
    Rep Power
    6

    Default Re: Pens + sustainability

    If nano-pigments contain very small particles of plastics, the particles will degrade of a very long time. They are too small to be filtered out at waste water treatment plants. so they run right through the water system and eventually end up in the oceans. Some are saying that the oceans are like a plastic soup. There is concern that everything that lives in the oceans will consume them, and they will enter the human food chain.

    Nano particles used to be used in cosmetics, to fill the cracks that show with age, but that has stopped now.

  14. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to RWS For This Useful Post:

    amk (March 28th, 2019), birch (March 28th, 2019)

  15. #11
    Senior Member AzJon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Location
    Flagstaff
    Posts
    764
    Thanks
    1,204
    Thanked 826 Times in 352 Posts
    Rep Power
    9

    Default Re: Pens + sustainability

    Quote Originally Posted by RWS View Post
    If nano-pigments contain very small particles of plastics, the particles will degrade of a very long time. They are too small to be filtered out at waste water treatment plants. so they run right through the water system and eventually end up in the oceans. Some are saying that the oceans are like a plastic soup. There is concern that everything that lives in the oceans will consume them, and they will enter the human food chain.

    Nano particles used to be used in cosmetics, to fill the cracks that show with age, but that has stopped now.
    Fabulous. I'll be sticking with my iron-gall inks when some level of permanence is called for, then.

  16. #12
    Senior Member ethernautrix's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Land of Po
    Posts
    1,064
    Thanks
    1,661
    Thanked 1,282 Times in 556 Posts
    Rep Power
    13

    Default Re: Pens + sustainability

    I've heard that plastics have already entered the human food chain and humans.
    _____________
    To Miasto

  17. The Following User Says Thank You to ethernautrix For This Useful Post:

    RWS (March 28th, 2019)

  18. #13
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Chester, North West England
    Posts
    160
    Thanks
    119
    Thanked 119 Times in 59 Posts
    Rep Power
    6

    Default Re: Pens + sustainability

    Quote Originally Posted by ethernautrix View Post
    I've heard that plastics have already entered the human food chain and humans.
    So have I, but I was not trying to be too alarmist.

  19. #14
    Senior Member ethernautrix's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Land of Po
    Posts
    1,064
    Thanks
    1,661
    Thanked 1,282 Times in 556 Posts
    Rep Power
    13

    Default Re: Pens + sustainability

    Quote Originally Posted by RWS View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by ethernautrix View Post
    I've heard that plastics have already entered the human food chain and humans.
    So have I, but I was not trying to be too alarmist.
    I tried not to be alarmist by not mentioning AI and how we might become robot hybrids.

    (Laughing, but, you know....)

    I overheard IT guys talking about the next development under way: Emotional Artificial Intelligence (EAI), teaching AI empathy.

    I can't even....
    _____________
    To Miasto

  20. The Following User Says Thank You to ethernautrix For This Useful Post:

    RWS (March 28th, 2019)

  21. #15
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Chester, North West England
    Posts
    160
    Thanks
    119
    Thanked 119 Times in 59 Posts
    Rep Power
    6

    Default Re: Pens + sustainability

    To my generation and background, AI means Artificial Insemination. Is that how we will become robot hybrids?

  22. The Following User Says Thank You to RWS For This Useful Post:

    AzJon (March 28th, 2019)

  23. #16
    Senior Member pajaro's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Tecumseh, MI
    Posts
    1,373
    Thanks
    561
    Thanked 614 Times in 411 Posts
    Rep Power
    13

    Default Re: Pens + sustainability

    Get a Parker 51. Even your children probably won't be throwing it away.

  24. The Following User Says Thank You to pajaro For This Useful Post:

    amk (April 2nd, 2019)

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •