Indian startup looks to turn pens into trees

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In India, Lakshmi Menon has launched “With Love,” a startup that sells paper pens with a seed inside. The biodegradable pens can simply be stuck in the ground once the ink has run out and watered for a couple of days until the seeds germinated.

The startup chose the Agastya tree for its seeds, because the plant’s seeds were small enough to be included in the pen. The leaves of the Agastya tree also have medicinal applications and can be mixed with cattle feed.

The startup, which employs 30 women, aimed to sell 1 million pens in its first year, but was sold out in just four months.

“We sell a pen for Rs 12, which is what you give for a cup of tea,” Menon tells Manorama Online. “With each pen bought, you also plant a tree for that same price… Each pen you buy is as good as an oxygen cylinder.”