Eco Friendly Crayons - Not Waxy or Toxic!

by Katy Green
www.shoptobegreen.com

Crayons Melted

Kids Love Crayons...crayons are colorful and fun but are crayons safe for your kids and do they contribute to non biodegradable waste?

According to Wikipedia, the word "crayon" was first recorded in the Webster's Dictionary in 1644 A.D., the word derives from (chalk) and the Latin word creta (Earth). The most popular kids crayons are made by Crayola, established in 1903. The famous yellow box of crayons that kids use worldwide is made of an oily paraffin wax.
On the Crayola factory website it states that Crayola Crayons are made from two basic ingredients: paraffin wax and pigment. Heated tanks store the wax. Pre-measured pigments are added to the wax and mixed.
Paraffin wax is not the most earth friendly ingredient for kids to handle but Crayola and the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) claims the trace amount of asbestos in two Crayola crayons made by Binney and Smith were so so small it is scientifically insignificant. The Crayola crayon study was conducted in 2000. In addition, Crayola crayons are not biodegradable but they do melt into a plastic goop.

Crayons are not biodegradable.
STOP: If you are thinking of throwing your Crayola crayons in the
garbage...don't!

Please send your crayons to Crazy Crayons in Colorado. As of January, 2012, Crazy Crayons collected over 77,000 pounds of unwanted crayons from schools, restaurants and many caring organizations across the USA.

Natural Crayons
A safer alternative to wax crayons is natural crayons that are handmade using natural and organic fruit, plant and vegetable extracts from annatto seed, beets, carrots, cur cumin, purple sweet potato, red cabbage and spinach, soy, bee and palm wax. For more information on Natural Crayons, click here.