| Harkening to a bygone era when pens had personality | | | | classrooms. "They are tapping into their social |
| and were considered items of refinement and | | | | connections and using social media to create an |
| craftsmanship, refillable pens and markers are making | | | | awareness of this alternative green product," says |
| a cool comeback. "It's not only the retro feel of refilling | | | | Kerry Tuttle. "They are raising money through |
| your markers," explains Kerry Tuttle, the North | | | | fundraisers, posting videos on You Tube, and creating |
| American distributor of AusPen eco-friendly markers, | | | | action-oriented school clubs to reduce their exposure |
| "it's also the green appeal that is captivating a younger | | | | to toxins found in places like the pink soap in |
| generation." | | | | washroom dispensers, the janitor's cleaning products, |
| In North America alone, teachers throw away over | | | | and toxic dry-erase markers". |
| 500 million plastic dry-erase markers per year. Clogging | | | | Savvy researchers and online shoppers as they are, |
| up local landfills, markers made of PVC –the | | | | Generation Y consumers search out the retro look |
| ‘poison plastic' – find their permanent home. | | | | they like, then figure out how to get the same look or |
| Generation Y is well informed, and they see this as a | | | | feel as a product from yesteryear, but with a modern |
| big waste, a threat to their future, and a lack of | | | | and green cutting edge. The sleek and futuristic look of |
| creativity. | | | | the AusPen starter kit carrying case, made of 100% |
| The future is retro for the teens, twenty and | | | | recycled polyethylene plastic, is reminiscent of the |
| thirty-somethings. While this cohort of consumers loves | | | | space age design craze of the 60's, and the popularity |
| all things vintage, they are not willing to abandon their | | | | of refillable pens evokes memories of the days of the |
| eco-mindedness and turn onto polluting products of | | | | original refillable fountain pens, like the ‘Parker 45' in |
| past years. That's why products that have retro | | | | this 1967 ad. |
| sentiment but are made of modern materials or | | | | Going green to get back to school or work is a top |
| technology are making a splash. | | | | priority for young consumers. But if this altruistic |
| Students at high schools and colleges are taking | | | | passion can be combined with a retro look, then |
| action to bring the non-toxic, refillable, recycled | | | | treading lighter on the earth has never looked so cool. |
| aluminum AusPen dry-erase markers into their | | | | |