These Eco-Friendly Pencils Actually Grow Into Plants When Placed In Pots

• Eco Hub, a startup from Cebu, Philippines, is selling ‘plantable pencils’ that grow into different plants.
• The product aims to give pencils “a new lease of life” once they’re too short to use.
• Another company, Sprout, also sells eco-friendly pencils after they were invented by Massachusetts Institute of Technology students.  

A startup from Cebu, Philippines recently gained social media attention for their unique product – pencils that actually grow into plants. At first glance, their pencils look like ordinary pencils. However, some will immediately notice tat the tail end isn’t an eraser but a “gelatin capsule” which contains different kinds of seeds, depending on the pencil.

Some are labelled basil, carrot, chili pepper, citronella, mint, sunflower, and tomato, among others. In a Facebook post, the group wrote, “This gives it a new lease on life. Instead of being thrown away, the plantable pencil becomes a symbol of sustainability.”

In a CNN feature, we learn that the plantable pencils “do not contain lead and is made of sustainable wood, graphite, clay, and non-GMO seeds.” The report also mentioned that a pencil “can grow as fast as five to ten days depending on the kind of seed on it.”

The product has so far gotten a lot of positive feedback from netizens.

Meanwhile, we also learn that these plantable pencils aren’t the first or only of its kind in the world.

Another company called Sprout has also been selling plantable pencils that “are patented in countries and regions including Europe, USA and Canada,” according to its official website.

An IFLScience article tells us that Sprout pencils are “a collaboration” between three Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) students and Danish entrepreneurs who aimed to produce pencils that grow into herbs, plants, and vegetables. The project began in 2012 and after receiving funding from a Kickstarter Campaign, sustainability consultant Michael Stausholm signed a deal and launched a company with the students in 2013.

Stausholm said:

“One of the major strengths of Sprout pencils is their capacity to pull such a complex issue as sustainability down to earth.

“One of our important tasks is to make sustainability pragmatic and comprehensible – but, most of all, fun. Our plantable pencils and paper are perfect for spotlighting the reuse of the Earth’s resources. We’re talking micro level, but we’ve all got to start somewhere.”

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