It’s hard to be anything but approving of the tendency toward “green products” that has recently become voguish. However, a lot of these products have dubious positive environmental effect, and seem more like a marketing prank. Too many of them seem to be designed for us to throw all our old stuff into the landfill, buy new stuff that’s carbon-neutral, and then replace it when it breaks in a few years.
Today I’d like to introduce you to a green technology that has existed for centuries, is proven under adverse conditions, and can be a lot of fun. While the average person cycles through disposable ball-point pens, which at best allow you to replace the ink shaft and ball point itself, fountain pens are much less destructive, and can be less expensive, depending on how many ballpoints you buy in a year.
Why fountain pens are green:
I wanted to find an example that for $30 provided a year’s worth of trouble free writing. To figure this out, I had to consult with the online community “Pen Trace” where some helpful people pointed me in the right direction.
Pelikan Pelikano, $18
I picked this sturdy little pen because the Pelikan brand has produced pens that write smoothly and consistently. This is not their cheapest model, because in Europe, fountain pens are not an oddity. This entry-level pen uses a sturdy steel nib, which is the pointy part of the pen that conveys ink to paper, and is made of durable but soft plastic.
Pelikan converter, $5
Normally, these little pens use disposable plastic cartridges, but those are about as green as SUVs, so instead, you can get it to take ink directly from a bottle by using this little gadget. It fits in place of the cartridge, and by using vacuum pressure when the knob is turned, can load up several days’ worth of ink. It also allows you to easily clean the pen.
Pelikan Royal Blue ink, $7
This ink is what you put into the pen. The color is attractive and because it is water-based, it’s easier to clean up and biodegrade than the paintlike ink they put in ballpoint pens.
You might not be able to turn your lifestyle green overnight, but a good way to start is to replace badly designed objects, like disposable pens, with more durable ones that require fewer resource refreshes as a result. Pens are one area we can all improve, since they are a ubiquitous technology and others will imitate what they see us doing.
Nice work! Always good to see more interest in fountain pens.