Is There Any Info On Sustainability, Fair Trade, Environmental Impact For Fountain Pen Producers?

[htjester]

I must ask: does anyone ever consider the ethics of pen production before making a purchase? Is this even possible?

 

I try to be a responsible shopper, to buy, for instance, fair trade coffee and boycott companies known to use sweatshop labor or that make donations to political groups that do not align with my personal views. Yet when it comes to fountain pens, often a significant investment, I cannot find any information about pen production, even from major companies. Is it out there? If not, why not? do fountain pen users just not care?

 

Many fountain pens comprise precious materials such as gold and gemstones often mined in conflict zones and others are mass-produced in factories in nations with deplorable labor laws. One frequent argument in favor of fountain pens is that they are not disposable and thus environmentally sustainable but has anyone run those numbers? What is the cost in water, air pollution, toxins for manufacturing high quality paper or producing the resins used in pens?

Apps like buycott do not rank fountain pen companies for their politics or sustainability, nor are there easily found statements from pen companies about this.

 

Just wondering-do any pen companies provide certification that their precious materials are environmentally sustainable, that, for instance, that $2500 pen does not bear a blood diamond on the cap or the gold in your nib was not?

 

Is this information available anywhere? And if not, how might a consumer begin collecting such data?

 

I welcome your thoughts on this.

[sombrueil]

Reusing and repairing, living modestly, and avoiding disposables, are keys to environment responsibility that don't require apps. If you are buying $2500 diamond-encrusted pens you are not in environmentally sustainable territory anyway.

 

I have a feeling this doesn't answer your questions.

Edited March 21, 2015 by sombrueil

[Parker51]

My suggestion is buy from small manufacturers. If you buy from Brian Grey and his Edison Pen Company you are purchasing from the maker of the pen you purchase. Their pens are made by Brian, his wife Andrea and a couple of employees in a small workshop. Another example is Bexley Pens were again you can talk directly with the people who make the pens you buy, in this case you would talk to Howad Levy, who as President of their small company is also,involved hands on in all aspects of pen production. Both of these manufactures are in Ohio, in the United States, and if you ask, you can personally visit them and see the pens being made. For me, Bexley pens are also local being 2.4 miles and 16 minutes by bicycle from my office. Now in regard to materials, I suggest you consider one of either of these manufactures Steel Nibs, they are made in Germany. Then you do not need to worry about Gold, and neither maker uses jewels.

[htjester]

Thanks for these thoughtful replies. I agree that buying local, buying used pens (akin to reusing and recycling), and supporting small businesses is the best solution. I am still curious about whether there is any information on these issues for major pen companies that charge luxury prices. In some ways (cost, materials, manufacture, prestige) a fountain pen is no different from a cell phone or a piece of jewelry, yet it is much harder to find out whether, for instance, Omas or Montblanc is using responsibly sourced materials or confirm the likely case that Jinhao pens contribute to the pollution of China and are made by factory workers living in dormitories and working excessive hours in unsafe conditions.

 

I agree that buying luxury pens produced in foreign countries will never be sustainable. If ever I were to invest in one I'd want to support a responsible producer though.

 

I am glad to hear that other pen users have considered sustainability and look forward to more conversation about these issues.

Edited March 21, 2015 by htjester

[Larry Barrieau]

You are not taking into account that those people who work in "sweatshops" do so because it is often the only way to keep their families alive. We who are from countries where we have many other choices should realize that they do not. When we want to feel good and not buy from those dealers whose employees are working under brutal conditions we should also consider what real results may come from that action.

[Djehuty]

Many fountain pens comprise precious materials such as gold and gemstones often mined in conflict zones and others are mass-produced in factories in nations with deplorable labor laws. One frequent argument in favor of fountain pens is that they are not disposable and thus environmentally sustainable but has anyone run those numbers? What is the cost in water, air pollution, toxins for manufacturing high quality paper or producing the resins used in pens?

Apps like buycott do not rank fountain pen companies for their politics or sustainability, nor are there easily found statements from pen companies about this.

 

Any electronic devices, like the computer/tablet/phone with which you access FPN, will have gold and other rare metals in it, all of which are extracted from the earth with great cost in terms of environmental damage and perhaps labor issues as well. A pen with a bit of gold in it is probably much less damaging than any other precious-metal-containing item you own, and unlike electronics, you won't have to replace it every year or so.

 

I can't speak to precious stones, except to say that the major diamond hoarders don't seem to be terribly interested in tracking conflict diamonds effectively, and in any case the entire diamond industry is based on false scarcity, so anything with diamonds in it is, to me, highly suspect. I'd love to see more artificially-created diamonds in use. Compressed carbon is compressed carbon, and at least no one's dying for the stuff made in an industrial laboratory.

 

 

You are not taking into account that those people who work in "sweatshops" do so because it is often the only way to keep their families alive. We who are from countries where we have many other choices should realize that they do not. When we want to feel good and not buy from those dealers whose employees are working under brutal conditions we should also consider what real results may come from that action.

 

That's the reasoning that keeps sweatshops in business. It is not true that putting an end to sweatshops, child labor, and the various permutations of slavery would put everyone so employed forever out of work. If manufacturers were held accountable, they would be forced to improve working conditions. That is what people opposed to sweatshops are after. There are many terrible things people are willing to do in order to keep themselves and their families alive. That does not make exploiting them somehow acceptable. There are alternatives to exploitation other than letting everyone starve.

[Parse Error]

The world of fountain pens is inherently free trade. If you're going to be buying a pen to put words on paper, you're not going to be looking at the 2'500 range of prices. Most likely you're going to end up with something like a Pelikan 600/605/640 or a Lamy 2000.

 

Environmental sustainability --

 

Body -- given the average lifespan of a standard fountain pen to be 25 years of HEAVY use, considering the alternative of using up two pens a week (I've done that before, although not for more than two weeks at a time), you're talking about a replacement of over two thousand regular pens. The choice is obvious.

Ink -- assuming that you're using a self filler (you won't be able to afford cartridges at this level of heavy use), you're going to be buying bottled ink, typically in bulk. No matter how you look at it, it's still environmentally better than throwing away single use pens, or even cartridges/refills for that matter.

Paper -- standard 90gsm premium multipurpose is more than adequate for daily writing. Also, how much writing paper are you *really* going to be using? My personal record is 25 pages double sided a day... and I write BIG.

 

Social 'consciousness' --

 

Gold -- really, the amount of gold in a fountain pen is so low that you really shouldn't be worrying about it. The cost of a nib goes into the tuning/quality assurance and not the cost of the raw materials. Also, given that you can retip nibs, it's more or less a nonissue.

Sweatshops -- you can't get cheap labor to produce good quality. I stay away from Chinese and Indian pens for that reason -- they typically don't work well. If you're sinking good money into a pen, you don't want to be fiddling with it.

 

When you're paying 400$ for a pen, you're not paying for the pen. You're paying for the quality assurance and craftsmanship that goes into the pen. And the latter two things are not cheap. At all.

 

Free trade feels like a scam to me personally -- I'd rather spend the extra money to go buy something with better quality rather than with a logo on it.

[htjester]

Many thanks for your responses to this thread so far. Since this is the internet and I am new to this forum I hope this conversation might stay focused on pen production, rather than global trade. Respectfully, lest this turn into a debate about international commerce and consumer culture, may I leave aside many of your points about the economics behind these issues and refocus this topic to the production practices of major pen manufacturers?

 

It seems that no one else is aware of any information available about the ways that various pen producers source materials, treat employees, and/or the political views of their executives. I am surprised that this sort of information is unavailable considering how much care members of this forum put into documenting the histories of pens and their manufacture. Is this something that others are interested in knowing about? If so, how might such information be discovered?

 

While some can afford $400 for a pen made in Germany or Japan by fine craftspersons well compensated for their labor, others are on much tighter budgets and others might want to purchase an especially beautiful pen as a piece of art to commemorate a milestone. Whatever our politics or finances, I think this sort of consumer information on production practices would be useful.

[_Stormin_]

I must ask: does anyone ever consider the ethics of pen production before making a purchase? Is this even possible?

To answer your two questions:

 

1: No. It's a pen. It contain's far too little resources to have that significant an impact. A few grams of gold, plastic, and metal that will never change hands again (all my pens are "keepers") aren't changing the world. But that's one guys opinion. I also bring home my newspaper from work everyday because they don't recycle and I can at home.

 

2: Not that I am aware of, though the big EU companies probably have corporate "impact statements." Oddly enough, these are the companies most likely to use responsible production methods anyway. The Hero and Jinhao pens... Yeah, probably not so much...

[hot cocoa]

Fountain pens are interesting and complex enough when considered just as the writing instruments that they are. Applying the unnecessary and politicized scrutiny of social justice to pens just sucks all the air out of such a decent hobby.

Edited March 22, 2015 by hot cocoa

[Algester]

This only applies to japan probably but for sailor you have their forestationery project

http://sailorshop.jp/hpgen/HPB/categories/11792.html

The said products when sold will have a tree planted in Japan

As for Pilot but it only applies to their BPs have begreen which means that the plastics used are either recycled if not sustainable

As for the actual production I dont think resins are really environmentally friendly as for the gold thats another story really

[Djehuty]

It seems that no one else is aware of any information available about the ways that various pen producers source materials, treat employees, and/or the political views of their executives. I am surprised that this sort of information is unavailable considering how much care members of this forum put into documenting the histories of pens and their manufacture. Is this something that others are interested in knowing about? If so, how might such information be discovered?

 

The reason the information isn't available has nothing to do with the care people here put into documenting pen history, and everything to do with the simple fact that the companies involved don't publish anything of the sort. Most companies don't. If the companies doing the manufacturing don't publish such information, what else is one to do?

 

As far as labor practices are concerned, I do wonder who made my cheap Chinese and Indian pens, just as I wonder who made many other things I encounter daily, from computer parts to clothes. Reliable information is hard to come by, if that's possible at all. Price is no guide, as many of the more expensive things in the world are made under conditions which would not be tolerated in the US or Europe. Change would be good, but it's going to take a revolution in the way we think about such things, and in the way consumers relate to manufacturers. Which brings me to:

 

 

Many thanks for your responses to this thread so far. Since this is the internet and I am new to this forum I hope this conversation might stay focused on pen production, rather than global trade. Respectfully, lest this turn into a debate about international commerce and consumer culture, may I leave aside many of your points about the economics behind these issues and refocus this topic to the production practices of major pen manufacturers?

 

Doesn't work that way, I'm afraid. You've asked questions which can only be discussed in a larger framework, since pen production does not occur in a vacuum, divorced from such topics. Also, you effectively answered your own question in your first post: the information isn't available. Finally, given the nature of pen production, the many places it occurs, and the many companies which sell the resulting pen, your question is inherently a question about global trade. So while I appreciate your intent, unless you wish the discussion to be confined to a single-sentence confirmation of your premise, it isn't really possible to prevent it from involving the larger matters of which this issue is a part.

 

At least everyone's being courteous. I think most (perhaps all) of us would like to have access to this information, about all products we might purchase, but I doubt that will happen unless enough people make it a political issue in their respective home countries. After all, an informed customer is, to the corporate world, a dangerous customer.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I'm far from sharing the mindset expressed in the original post. In particular, I have absolutely no sympathy for "boycott[ing] companies...that make donations to political groups that do not align with my personal views." This seems to demand a stifling ideological conformity. It's okay to disagree with me, really. Inhumane working conditions in factories are a different matter, but I'm not going to demand that every company I buy from should come forward with proof of how they treat their employees.

 

If I did share these concerns, I think that my first order of business would be to write to the manufacturers involved and see what they had to say for themselves on any questions that I had. After that, well, nobody guaranteed that these things would be easy. If you really are worried, then you can get together with like minded individuals and spend a lot of time and effort researching the companies you would consider buying from.

Edited March 22, 2015 by ISW_Kaputnik

[Bo Bo Olson]

Europen makers, MB, Pelikan, Aurora, Osmas, Visconti all have over paid workers, with great health bennies....made in House.

I'm sure Japan is worker friendly...and good for health too.

 

There are pen factories in China after their 12 hour shift, they get to make fake MB's to make a living.

 

Levis are made by slave Chinese labor. 12 hour shifts, hot bed barracks, 366 days a year...and all Chinese factores are death traps for Jeans making.raw chemicals, no mask....dead by 40....fired when too sick to work at 35.

The jeans material is imported to China from N. Carolina.

 

Buy Wranglers....made in Guadamala, Poland and Turkey....where the workers make a living wage for an 8 hour day-five day week & health bennies.

I don't know which jeans are still made in the US....bound to be a couple.

Edited March 22, 2015 by Bo Bo Olson

[Larry Barrieau]

I don't see people in any country giving up their inexpensive jeans or (insert any/every product here), and pay 3, 4, or more times the price they now pay because the people who make them are being exploited. Exploitation is on a sliding scale, I know people making six figures who feel they are exploited and on the other end of the scale I would guess there are people who are working like dogs for little pay who feel lucky to have the job.

 

It's a dilemma that can only work on a small scale. You might be able to get Juan Valdez a new burro by boycotting the Little Island Coffee Company, but having Xi Jinping give European like vacation time to the Chinese workers might be a tougher nut to crack.

[WaskiSquirrel]

If you are concerned with the conditions of workers and such, the best thing you can do is reduce consumption overall.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I'm sure the Chinese laborers would love ten days of vacation (two -weeks) of an American...non-government worker.

 

That's not really the thing....it's poisoning the workers....that is.

We have main channel TV reports over this (five or six that I've seen), and in India and Bangledisch. Horrible stuff.

I doubt if such programs have run in the States....in it would 'boring', and not get the ratings.

[tfwall]

Many thanks for your responses to this thread so far. Since this is the internet and I am new to this forum I hope this conversation might stay focused on pen production, rather than global trade. Respectfully, lest this turn into a debate about international commerce and consumer culture, may I leave aside many of your points about the economics behind these issues and refocus this topic to the production practices of major pen manufacturers?

 

It seems that no one else is aware of any information available about the ways that various pen producers source materials, treat employees, and/or the political views of their executives. I am surprised that this sort of information is unavailable considering how much care members of this forum put into documenting the histories of pens and their manufacture. Is this something that others are interested in knowing about? If so, how might such information be discovered?

 

While some can afford $400 for a pen made in Germany or Japan by fine craftspersons well compensated for their labor, others are on much tighter budgets and others might want to purchase an especially beautiful pen as a piece of art to commemorate a milestone. Whatever our politics or finances, I think this sort of consumer information on production practices would be useful.

 

Based on the emails and responses to the previous FPN topic, it seems like Fair Trade is something a vanishingly small minority of users are interested in. Everyone else is either suspicious of the motives or just wants their pen for the lowest price possible, working conditions be damned.

Edited March 22, 2015 by Chemyst

[kbrede]

I'm sure the Chinese laborers would love ten days of vacation (two -weeks) of an American...non-government worker.

 

That's not really the thing....it's poisoning the workers....that is.

We have main channel TV reports over this (five or six that I've seen), and in India and Bangledisch. Horrible stuff.

I doubt if such programs have run in the States....in it would 'boring', and not get the ratings.

Ah, the evil empire, "the States" and their ignorant, fat people. If we could just round them all up and dispose of them. The world would be such a wonderful place. LOL

Kent

[Djehuty]

 

Based on the emails and responses to the previous FPN topic, it seems like Fair Trade is something a vanishingly small minority of users are interested in. Everyone else is either suspicious of the motives or just wants their pen for the lowest price possible, working conditions be damned.

 

That's a shame. I'd be interested in a Fair Trade program for pens and inks, or really anything else, if I could be assured of its veracity. I wouldn't want the prices to climb too high, but I'd certainly be willing to buy fewer pens (not that I buy all that many nowadays).