FAQs
Q. What are the biggest environmental loads of similar products / services on the market?
A. The biggest environmental loads are that most stationery in the market, either use raw materials such as wood from trees to make pencils, paper and plastic to make pens which promotes deforestation, imagine how many trees are cut down to make pencils and paper. Just as an example, a cut down tree can only produce about 20,000 pencils where as a ton of Newspaper can produce 200,000 O’BON pencils. Or, a double spread of a sheet of newspaper can make 6 O’BON pencils. Imagine the environmental saving possibilities.
Q. What environmental elements are unique to this product / service or which demonstrate environmental leadership?
A. The products are unique because we are a brand that is built on recycled and started out this way as compared to other stationery market leaders who are only now slowly branching off into the ‘Green’ product lines because the world is realizing the importance of going Green. Yes, some may say they are using materials from sustainable forests, but aren’t trees still being cut down? Is this good for our earth? It takes a long time for a tree to grow anyways. Why not use materials like Newspaper, which have already gone through 2-3 Re-Cycles before becoming our O’BON products. We are always doing R&D and soon we will be making all recycled Notebooks as well. Imagine how many trees we would save if O’BON replaces lined wire bound note books with recycled notebooks. We are leading the way as a brand built on saving the environment rather than a leading brand, which has done damage to our environment and only now are trying to make amends(or not losing its customers) by coming up with environmentally friendly products. In this instance, the O’BON brand would be declared as an environmental leader in stationery.
Q. Does the manufacturer or product have an environmental management system?
A. The factory where the products are produced have very good working and living conditions with happy workers there. As a start, some waste is produced due to the sanding process of the pencils, the waste which is pulp is then put back into the earth as fertilizers for the plantation or garden of the factory compound, which makes up 45% of the area, where fruit trees are planted (and produce quite good tasting fruit I might add). Whenever possible, waste is also used as material to make other O’BON products. Some pulp is used to make our file folders. The water there is also recycled. There is a nice canteen or cafeteria which the workers have their daily meals and the management is always looking out for the well being of the workers as well as balancing the environmental impact whenever and wherever they can.
Q. Has the manufacturer or product received an environmental award or external acknowledgment of good environmental performance?A. Yes, the manufacturer has received the Environmental Management System Standard ISO14001 and Quality Management System Standard ISO9001 List any particular environmental or social programs of the manufacturer? None yet in Canada, we are still in the infant stages, but O’BON is international and has been alive since year 2000. In Malaysia, they have been part of the Recycling Day Event held in the capital, Kuala Lumpur and has also collaborated with the local ZOO there which promotes awareness about saving Wildlife. They also collaborated with schools kids to make the Longest Recycled Color Pencil Replica which is officially listed in the Malaysia Book of Records.
Q. Does the product come with a warranty – give brief details.
A. We back the product 100% and if for any reason people are not satisfied with our product, we will replace the product. Or if the product has a manufacturing defect, we will replace it as well. We welcome all negative feedback on our products so that we may improve our quality. But of course so far, there have been no complaints. What is its anticipated lifetime? The lifetime of the product is hard to gauge, as our products are stationery items and will probably last very long if unused. Fortunately, people who buy our products use them straight away and are very happy to get some more because they have such good value.
Q. What evidence is available that the product is compliant to Canadian or other relevant product standards?
A. The pencils are non-toxic and meet European Standards (EN-71)
A. The biggest environmental loads are that most stationery in the market, either use raw materials such as wood from trees to make pencils, paper and plastic to make pens which promotes deforestation, imagine how many trees are cut down to make pencils and paper. Just as an example, a cut down tree can only produce about 20,000 pencils where as a ton of Newspaper can produce 200,000 O’BON pencils. Or, a double spread of a sheet of newspaper can make 6 O’BON pencils. Imagine the environmental saving possibilities.
Q. What environmental elements are unique to this product / service or which demonstrate environmental leadership?
A. The products are unique because we are a brand that is built on recycled and started out this way as compared to other stationery market leaders who are only now slowly branching off into the ‘Green’ product lines because the world is realizing the importance of going Green. Yes, some may say they are using materials from sustainable forests, but aren’t trees still being cut down? Is this good for our earth? It takes a long time for a tree to grow anyways. Why not use materials like Newspaper, which have already gone through 2-3 Re-Cycles before becoming our O’BON products. We are always doing R&D and soon we will be making all recycled Notebooks as well. Imagine how many trees we would save if O’BON replaces lined wire bound note books with recycled notebooks. We are leading the way as a brand built on saving the environment rather than a leading brand, which has done damage to our environment and only now are trying to make amends(or not losing its customers) by coming up with environmentally friendly products. In this instance, the O’BON brand would be declared as an environmental leader in stationery.
Q. Does the manufacturer or product have an environmental management system?
A. The factory where the products are produced have very good working and living conditions with happy workers there. As a start, some waste is produced due to the sanding process of the pencils, the waste which is pulp is then put back into the earth as fertilizers for the plantation or garden of the factory compound, which makes up 45% of the area, where fruit trees are planted (and produce quite good tasting fruit I might add). Whenever possible, waste is also used as material to make other O’BON products. Some pulp is used to make our file folders. The water there is also recycled. There is a nice canteen or cafeteria which the workers have their daily meals and the management is always looking out for the well being of the workers as well as balancing the environmental impact whenever and wherever they can.
Q. Has the manufacturer or product received an environmental award or external acknowledgment of good environmental performance?A. Yes, the manufacturer has received the Environmental Management System Standard ISO14001 and Quality Management System Standard ISO9001 List any particular environmental or social programs of the manufacturer? None yet in Canada, we are still in the infant stages, but O’BON is international and has been alive since year 2000. In Malaysia, they have been part of the Recycling Day Event held in the capital, Kuala Lumpur and has also collaborated with the local ZOO there which promotes awareness about saving Wildlife. They also collaborated with schools kids to make the Longest Recycled Color Pencil Replica which is officially listed in the Malaysia Book of Records.
Q. Does the product come with a warranty – give brief details.
A. We back the product 100% and if for any reason people are not satisfied with our product, we will replace the product. Or if the product has a manufacturing defect, we will replace it as well. We welcome all negative feedback on our products so that we may improve our quality. But of course so far, there have been no complaints. What is its anticipated lifetime? The lifetime of the product is hard to gauge, as our products are stationery items and will probably last very long if unused. Fortunately, people who buy our products use them straight away and are very happy to get some more because they have such good value.
Q. What evidence is available that the product is compliant to Canadian or other relevant product standards?
A. The pencils are non-toxic and meet European Standards (EN-71)
