PaperMate Earth Write pencil: First Looks

This is my first look at the PaperMate Earth Write pencil, which I found sitting on my table at a nearby restaurant.

This pencil has a wooden barrel.  The PaperMate website has very little to say about this pencil, but PaperMate claims that this is 100% pre-consumer recycled wood.  It appears far too pale to be cedar and did not smell like cedar.  Unfortunately, I did not get the opportunity to sharpen it, so I cannot comment on its behavior in a sharpener.

This pencil had bright yellow (not school-bus yellow) glossy paint, with bright green lettering.  Most of the PaperMate Earth Write pencils I have seen in advertising photos have bright green paint.

It has a metal ferrule, but the eraser was broken off inside the ferrule (is this a harbinger of a poor-quality eraser?), so I cannot comment on the eraser's effectiveness.

The 'lead' is comfortably soft and smooth and leaves a nice dark line, as you would expect from a quality #2 pencil.  The pencil feels very light in one's hand, yet sturdy enough to properly support the lead and otherwise feel substantial.

To sum up, my user experience was very good.  There is always the fear that when we try an ecologically-friendly product, we must suffer with a spartan substitution; like replacing the rich and complex flavors of an expensive cheese with the light blandness which is tofu: it may be easier on the planet, but it is harder on the consumer.  I am glad to say that I did not suffer at all with this fine pencil.

Another concern is that an ecologically-sustainable product may be easier on the biosphere, but harder on the wallet.  Fortunately, I have seen these pencils advertised for sale at the reasonable price of under $5 per dozen.

In fact, this pencil was so nice and inexpensive that I have to wonder how good it really is for our ecosystem.  Perhaps the packaging has more details of the environmental benefits of using this pencil rather than its competitors.

Having said this, and having tried this pencil, I must report that this is not a spectacular pencil.  I will not throw out any existing pencils to make way for this pencil, nor will I order any PaperMate Earth Write pencils to round out my expansive collection of pencils which already includes many ecologically-sensitive pencils.  I will not purchase these pencils as a gift to delight my friends and relatives.  I didn't even want to take the pencil I tried home with me; I left it on the restaurant table.