SproutWorld hits 90 million milestone

SproutWorld has announced that it has just sold its 90 millionth plantable pencil.

The manufacturer and distributor of the only patented plantable pencil (known as the Sprout pencil) reached the figure this month, after working with businesses and consumers all over the world to promote simple sustainability through its circular stationery products.

The company was founded by entrepreneur Michael Stausholm, then a sustainability advisor to the textile industry. His pencils offer an ecological alternative to the millions of plastic ballpoint pens produced worldwide every day – you simply use the pencil, then plant it and watch it grow. The pencils come in a range of packs: Happy Bee, Thankyou, Earth Day and Love, to name a few – and they can also be branded with corporate messages to help organisations of all kinds promote their own eco credentials, with customers including IKEA, Coca Cola, Lufthansa and even Michelle Obama.

Each Sprout pencil goes onto grow into a new plant – flowers, herbs, trees and vegetables – thanks to the seeds that are encased within its compostable tip. The company makes 175,000 pencils from every replanted tree it uses.

“We’re delighted to reach this milestone, it shows just how many businesses and consumers are aligned with our own approach to sustainability,” says Stausholm. “The Sprout pencils have received very positive feedback from people all over the world. We even get images sent to us of the plants, flowers, herbs and trees that are growing out of our pencils – especially from children and young people.”