About the Producer
History of TreeSmart Pencils
TreeSmart brand products is a relatively new company from the Pacific Northwest dedicated to manufacturing and marketing recycled and reusable materials from our natural resources. Among the products being marketed or in development are:
Pencils made from rolled up newspapers
Recycled crayons and coloring pencils and coloring booklets with the message of Recycling, Endangered Species, and Environmental Issues around the globe.
School supplies from recycled plastic materials and recycled paper.
TreeSmart was started in 1995 by Chris K. Stangland and is headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon, about 8 miles south of Portland. The first 6-8 years was devoted to perfecting the quality issues and manufacturing processes, before launching its national marketing programs in 2003 with on-line shopping through the TreeSmart website. Since then sales have increasingly expanded out to retail stores, art stores, and schools.
Manufacturing Process
The company experienced many challenges in developing a quality pencil made from recycled newspaper during its initial start-up. Good quality graphite and erasers that didn’t smudge, were only some of the problems originally encountered.
“While there are several companies manufacturing non-wood pencils, TreeSmart is the first company to successfully master the art of rolling a quality newspaper pencil,” Stangland said. “ We knew it would make a difference if we had USA-made erasers and ferrules and high quality graphite for our pencils.” The results have given TreeSmart a large and loyal following among teachers, art students, engineers and architects. Everyone wants to be a part of the growing awareness of our global environmental issues. Our pencils make a great statement,” Stangland said.
Early Test Marketing
A big surprise during the intial test marketing of the pencils was that teachers and kids preferred the pencils to show the natural newsprint, instead of the “school bus yellow” style, common in the school supply market. All of the teachers and students (ages 10-16) were impressed with both the concept and the quality of the pencil. Most commonly heard expletive was “Cool!” That was good news for a newspaper pencil!
Sales Projections
TreeSmart projects that sales of their initial newspaper pencil will exceed 10 million over the next 5 years. As global awareness to our environmental issues increases, the demand for more products that reflect our attitudes and help promote RECYCLING, REUSING and REDUCING will expand rapidly. TreeSmart plans to be there in the forefront.
Future Growth
The need for teaching the 3 R’s to everyone is the 21st century’s greatest challenge. Every product that can be made and sold that adheres to this concept will be a welcome addition to the education industry. The corporate commitment to these concepts is growing daily. The Specialty Advertising Industry has shown rapid growth in recycled products as a statement of Corporate Responsibility.
TreeSmart is in research now to explore additional markets outside the traditional areas of school supplies and corporate giveaways. The 3 R’s are more than just an education. They are a COMMITMENT
Support your organization and ...
Support a great example of Reuse, making pencils with no logging of forests or even mulching or mixing with toxic recycling chemicals. 4 pencils can be made of every braodsheet of newsprint!
It’s as simple as 1-2-3
1.First the newspaper has to be cut to size so the graphite will fit the paper.
2. Then the graphite is dipped into glue to stick to the paper.
3. The graphite is then rolled up in the newspaper and dried in a very hot oven for several hours.
4. After the raw pencil is sized and shaped, it is sent to the eraser assembly for final production.
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