Eco-friendly O'Bon Pencils

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The more I dabble into all things artsy, the more I am drawn to things other than pen and ink.  Why?  Well, it really is rather nice to be able to erase errors... but I have to admit that I have always had a love for pencils, generally of the mechanical kind though.

Prior to the overthrow of society, by all things computer, the pencil was king.  I'm a CPA, in my other life,  and believe me when I say that you definitely did not want to have to completely redo a tax return for an error on the first line that was not found until the last line.  So yes, we prepared tax returns by hand and filled in the forms with a pencil.  I only wish that I had such pretty pencils to work with then.

Okay, pencils have now become a tool of the artist or, in my case, the wannabe artist.  Sketching, shading, doodling... so last week at the art store I came across these very cool looking animal print pencils.  Now, if a pencil has a downfall it is generally that it is not particularly ecofriendly.  After all, most pencils are made from wood and the last thing we want is to cut down trees for our art supplies.  So, enter O'Bon.

From the O'Bon website:

The World's Greatest Pencils

Made of the highest quality. These sharpen better, write cleaner and last longer than your standard dull pencil.

Made from Newspaper  

Finally, a true environmentally-friendly pencil. All O’BON pencils are made from recycled newspaper, tightly rolled around our excellent graphite. The result is a longer-lasting pencil that is fun and easy to sharpen. Ask a child to sharpen an O’BON pencil and enjoy the "oohs" and "aahs" of excitement and interest as old newspaper unfurls. At O'BON we make pencils that are uniquely different, with a great story embedded in the shavings.

Stunning Designs 

The first thing you’ll notice about O’BON pencils are the incredible designs. Beautiful prints in wildlife, rainbow or newsprint themes add color and fun to your writing and drawing. We are firmly against eco-friendly products being green and brown or bland and boring, and refuse to fall in line. So whether you use our pencils at home, in class or at work, rest assured they will always stand out.

Earth Friendly

We live in the midst of major environmental concerns where hundreds of acres of trees are chopped down in minutes to provide us with products we already have better alternatives for. This is why every O'BON product is manufactured using recycled or reusable materials.  Every year, thousands of new individuals say “NO” to wood pencils, and in return we plant a tree for every O'BON purchase.

These pencils are wonderful.  They put down a great line, sharpen easily and they are pretty.  The only style available to me at my art store was the wildlife pencils, which is just fine, it's what I would have chosen. Additionally, these pencils aren't hard on the pocket book, at 10 for $4.25 or $0.425 each, they really are a deal (I noticed that they are $5 for 10 on the website).

While you are on the O'Bon website, checkout the other great eco-friendly products that they have to offer, like the Sugarcane Series notebooks made with bagasse paper, or perhaps you'd rather have birds on your notebooks.  They also have an artist set of pencils and colored pencils available.