Elephant Dung Paper

elephant-dung pages!

It was back in July 2009, when I first looked into cruelty-free alternatives for the home office, that I came across this idea of making paper out of elephant dung.  Sounds crazy, huh?  It sounded intriguing to me but, admittedly, a little “out there.”  Well, my second great discovery at the TAFA conference last month was, more than a year after my initial office-supplies search, finally getting to meet Mr. Ellie Pooh, maker of elephant dung paper: I got to actually see the paper up close, hold it, feel it.  And I have to say… it really is the shizzle.  The sheets have a wonderful texture — an all-natural feel, with visible fibers running though it.  A soft, papyrus-like paper.  Does it look like something that came from poop?  Not at all!  It looks like something I picked up from a high-end stationery store on the Upper West Side.

So what’s the story with this paper?  It originates from Sri Lanka, home to a tenth of the total population (40,000) of Asian elephants.  In Sri Lanka, the elephants have been in peril because they wreak havoc on farmers’ lands: elephants roam… and they also eat a lot!  So a creative approach to helping these animals has been to find a way to make them contribute something to the farmers’ lives, rather than being solely a detriment.  Now, the elephants are living, breathing paper mills — a resource for money (and jobs) for many of the people in Sri Lanka.  Now, if someone looks like he’s about to shoot an elephant, it’s more likely a neighbor will say, “hey, wait a second… that elephant produces up to 500 pounds of dung each day for us…”

So how exactly does dung become paper? Because elephants are vegetarians, their waste is essentially raw cellulose.  The farmers dry the dung in the sunshine for a full day, then boil it to remove any bacteria.  Afterwards, they create a pulp and press the pulp into sheets. It’s acid-free and — I promise you — stinky-free!  Another great thing about this paper: Did you notice there weren’t any trees cut down and added into the process?  The paper consists of 75% elephant dung and 25% post-consumer paper.  The web site informs: “Compared to using virgin wood, paper made with 100% recycled content uses 44% less energy, produces 38% less greenhouse gas emissions… 50% less wastewater.”  Mother Nature is very happy about this “pachyderm paper” idea, too!

So whether you’re looking for some new stationery or you have some invitations to order, why not be on the cutting edge of cruelty-free cool by using elephant-dung paper?  If this were a Facebook post, I wouldn’t just “like” it – I’d LOVE it!

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