While visiting Bizarre Bazaar, one vendor was selling this great product. It was paper made from elephant dung. No, it didn’t stink and it wasn’t crappy-let’s get those jokes out of the way up front. The product is by a company called Mr. Ellie Pooh. They feature paper products like cards and journals that are 100% handmade. The content is 75% recycled elephant dung. The products are all natural, made from 100% recycled content, use no toxic chemicals and are naturally colored using water soluable salt dyes. They don’t make all their own products, some of the more exotic selections come from a company called Maximus. Maximus uses the same environmental friendly processes as Mr. Ellie Pooh, but they use some other fun recycled materials like cinnamon bark and rice paddy straw. While the papers themselves are cool, and the final products are nice, it is the overall story that I love here.
Mr. Ellie Pooh products
First, they are recycling. This is a subject that is important to me, especially without having curbside recycling (get on the ball Cleveland). There is plenty of recycled paper out there, but this is true innovation at work. Who first thought up the idea of using elephant poop? What about other animals? Since it is natural, it is bio-degradable too.
Second is supporting workers in underdeveloped countries. These companies are located in Sri Lanka, not a country that springs to mind when speaking of a robust economy. Making these papers gives jobs to people who might find it difficult making a living. By supporting these types of companies we are also telling emerging economies that the environment should play a big role in their future development, a story America hasn’t been so quick to tell.
Mr. Ellie Pooh also has programs that allow groups to sell their products to raise money. Now organizations can sell real crap to fund band camp or get shiny new uniforms. I don’t know about you, but I would rather buy elephant pooh paper than another overpriced chocolate bar!
Lastly is the story of the elephant and the land. In a time when forests are being wiped out to make room for cattle, companies like Makimus and Ellie Pooh are trying to preserve the land in order to support the elephants. The story of this majestic mammal is becoming a modern day tragedy. First hunted for their ivory, now poached for many uses, the elephant has been driven to the brink of extinction. Even if elephant hunting were to miraculously stop overnight, their natural habitat is rapidly diminishing. Some elephants in the wild are so terrified by humans, that they will starve rather than cross a road. By using the dung to produce paper, companies like these help to support orphanages and reserves for these beautiful creatures. In a country that has nearly 10% of the Asian elephant population, these efforts can make a rather large impact. In addition, the long term plans of these companies are to expand and harvest wild elephant dung, an effort that could employ more people and make preserving the natural habitat in Sri Lanka a priority. Money talks, too. So they make a profit on the goods that they manufacture. This means that this is no charity. Profit is king, and who knows, perhaps a profitable venture like this could spread the idea to other parts of the globe and jump start efforts for other elephant populations like India and Africa. In fact, I just discovered that it is already being done in Thailand! Who came first, I don’t know, but it could be an elephant dung explosion!
This product is available at local zoos and across the country. Check out the website and see where. Save the elphants, buy some poo! If you are organizing a fundraiser, then sell some poo and make a difference!
