The eco-friendly ‘Velim’ brand pencils, which are made out of recycled newspaper, will be available for purchase from February 13th, 2023. One of the major driving factors for the production of these eco-friendly pencils is to reduce the use of single-use plastic, as annually, 2.4 billion plastic pens hit the markets , 91% of which are not recyclable.
Speaking with Goa Chronicle, Savio Rodrigues, Co-founder, Velim Ecological Solutions, said that the decision to produce eco-friendly pencils in particular was taken in order to aim at reducing the use of single-use plastic, particularly the use of pens, as they are the single largest resource made out of the same. Therefore, producing eco-friendly pencils sends out the right positive eco-sensitive message, while pushing discontinuing the use of plastic pens.
“When you use a pen to write on a paper, the paper gets wasted, but when a pencil is used, it can be rubbed and the paper can be used again, that is, paper can be used judiciously, which directly means that lesser trees get cut down in order to produce paper”, added Savio.
He said that the brand ‘Velim’ signifies the ethos of the constituency of Goa, which is about intelligence, and thinkers. The pencils will soon be available not only across Goa’s market, but in markets around whole of India, and across the globe.
As per Savio, pencils are only the first product under the ‘Velim’ brand, with the objective of putting as many recycled pencils in the market as possible during the next 18 months. But, at a later stage, the scope of the production will expand with the coming of products like recycled notepads, diaries, and organizers.
