Using yesterday's news: waste paper pencil.

Eco-friendly stationery items - one of the eye-catching exhibits - were available in different styles and designs at the recently-held East China Fair in Shanghai.

Headline-grabbing items included pencils with stalks made from used newspapers. When this "waster-paper" pencil is shaved by a pencil sharpener, the cross section shows the numerous layers of waste newspaper that's used in production.

According to the exhibitor, the raw material of this type of pencil comes from newspaper publishers which generate more than one tonne of recyclable paper a day in making test print runs.

So, the thinking goes, using waste paper as material helps conserve timber resources and reduces pollution.

An eco-friendly plastic document folder was another big hit at the show. The folders, made from "multi layer foam polypropylene", were available in many colours. This material is said to be degradable, heat-resistant, non-toxic and free from static electricity.

The most amazing aspect of this plastic material is that it can be recycled and reused many times. European and US buyers took a keen interest at the show.

Other exhibitors showcased product lines such as papers and pens made from corn stalk pulp. High-to-medium range paper products made from 100% corn stalk, or parts of the corn stalk such as the stem and skin, have turned out to be attractive and durable. Other parts of the plant can also be used in the process.

As for pens made from corn materials, it's said that upon disposal, they can be 75% degraded over the period of one year, so are particularly eco-friendly.

Industry sources point out that as the newly developed technology for producing eco-friendly stationery items are more experimental and costly they're targeted for export markets.

Mainland consumers are generally less receptive to these supposedly cutting-edge ideas for writing tools.

However, eco-friendly stationery looks set to become a growing trend as Mainland consumers become more environment-conscious.

from Kelly Dai, Shanghai Office

(Image courtesy of Environmental Protection of Guangdong Province)