Last week something in the food news caught our eye - a set of natural crayons made using recycled produce and vegetable waste. The new creation, Oyasai Crayons, made with all-natural ingredients, was recently introduced by Japanese designer Naoko Kimura, alongside Japanese company, Mizuiro Inc.
Every year alone over 150 million crayons are discarded in America alone, most of which are made of paraffin wax, which contains petroleum, a toxic chemical to the environment. Oyasai Crayons, safe and organic alternatives, are made from rice bran oil and rice wax from rice bran. Both solid rice bran wax and liquid rice bran oil are byproducts of the rice polishing process so these crayons are essentially made from waste.
Spotting this reminded us of something we saw ten years ago now too, which was a set of 100% edible crayons from food and fashion site Luxirare. Made from ingredients like nuts, seeds, marshmallows, dried fruits, and bee pollen, the Luxirare Crayons resemble a more rough-hewn rendering of the waxy original but are safe when they end up finding their way into the mouths of the youngest at the table or at playtime.
With a little digging we soon found another edible stationary item - perhaps something that's becoming a trend of its own - with a set of edible notepads from Japanese stationary company Eins Eco. No need to scrumple up your redundant notes with these as you can simply start chewing away to avoid any waste at all. The wafer paper consists of a mixture of potato starch powder, olive oil and water. While the accompanying black pen even uses an edible ink made from water, glycerin, ethanol, citric acid, and colouring.
If you've spotted any interesting edible stationary, or even other household style items too, then share your findings with us over on Twitter @thefoodpeople.