Zero Waste
Vegetable Crayons
Vegetable Crayon® is a registered trademark of Mizuiro.inc, Japan
Vegetable Crayons
From Japan, one of the world’s largest food waste producers, comes the new, vegan, eco-friendly, sustainable, Vegetable Crayons
What are Vegetable Crayons?
Introducing Vegetable Crayons, plant-based and made from the rice bran oil and wax extracted as part of the rice production process. Vegetable crayons include actual powdered vegetable mixes. The vegetables used are edible but disposed of for not meeting aesthetic standards, or are from portions cut away before shipment. This product is with a ZERO WASTE goal in mind.
Moving towards zero waste
Since ancient times, Japan has embraced the culture of mottainai, the concept of reducing and reusing as much as possible. However, somewhere along the line, Japan has found itself among the world’s biggest food wasters, throwing out up to 6.12 million tonnes of edible food each year.
In order to develop safe products with sustainable materials, Vegetable Crayons are made with real vegetables, fruits, and legumes that don’t make the cut for grocery shelves. For example, the Cabbage color uses the outer leaves of cabbages, often thrown out or left in the soil for compost until now, while the Apple crayons use the skins produced when manufacturing dehydrated apple chips. Farmers gather these materials and revive them for their second chance.
The rice bran wax and oil used as the base for Vegetable Crayons is also taken from rice bran, from the outer layer of the grain that is usually polished away and wasted.
Safety
Since children interact with Vegetable crayons, they are made safe, from raw materials to the production process. The main ingredients of Vegetable Crayons are rice bran oil and the rice bran wax extracted from this oil.
Both are derived from rice bran, produced when polishing brown rice. Since Japan relies on imports for most of its oils, rice bran is a valuable, domestically-made oil source for the nation. The Vegetable Crayon series is the only one worldwide made with rice wax and oil.
Since they’re made with rice bran oil, our crayons don’t smell like typical crayons and won’t harm children who put them in their mouths. The crayons won’ t break easily when held and won’t get sticky in children’s hands.
Real powdered vegetables are used to color the crayons, supplemented by pigments safe enough to be used in food. Each crayon uses less than a third of the pigments used in normal crayons.
Colours
A standard Vegetable Crayon pack contains ten colors, each named for the vegetable it’s colored after, such as Cabbage or Carrot. Children form connections and learn through the fun of drawing with the colours of nature.
Vegetable crayon standard
Standard Vegetable Crayons are made from rice and vegetables.
Raw materials are rice oil and rice wax extracted from rice bran, vegetable powder, and food colours. They are non-toxic, and safe for use by Children.
Flower Crayon
Flower crayons are beeswax crayons that draw with the colours of real flowers.
They are made with certified organic edible flower powders. They come in five colours, including the brilliant blue of butterfly pea, the pale pink of roses, the shiny red of hibiscus, the tranquil green of henna, and the bright orange of rose-hip.
