The ciklo is the result of a process of ideation and research for more than three years. Initially, the ciklo was to be the first compostable pen entirely manufactured in Quebec. However, we realized that making a compostable pen was a bad idea for three main reasons:

• the composting system in Quebec is not made to receive biosourced plastic


• the material resulting from the decomposition of bio-sourced plastic adds no value to the compost and could even contaminate it


• Composting systems vary from city to city and do not accept all this type of material1.

Currently the best solution is to use plastic to make the closed loop ciklo

The ciklo is entirely made in Quebec. The raw material, polypropylene (PP), comes from the recycling of products consumed and placed in the recycling bin in North America. Once the PP is recycled, it is sent to our manufacturer in Beauce. The pen envelope is then taken in Quebec where it is personalized and assembled. It is then sent to our offices in Montreal to carry out a final quality control before sending it to you! Thus, the manufacturing of the ciklo involves 9 companies including 2 social reintegration companies, 1 female-owned company, 1 cooperative, 1 B Corp certified company and a family business.

The ciklo is the first locally manufactured recycled and recyclable pen. This helps to reduce GHG emissions compared to a pen imported from far away countries. It has been eco-designed to reduce its environmental impact: the ciklo uses materials that have a limited impact, it is made up of fewer parts than a conventional pen and is also lighter. In addition, the ciklo was developed in a circular economy logic: all the material used to manufacture it comes from Quebec recycling bins, and, at the end of its life, is once again made available to Quebec plastics manufacturers. We have made sure that the ciklo is recycled at the end of its life unlike other alternatives, thanks to the implementation of our collection program developed in collaboration with MultiRecycle.

A post-consumer recycled plastic is a plastic that has lived a first life, as a product, then which has been collected, cleaned and recycled before living a second life, as a new product. Thus, the new product made from post-consumer plastic (ciklo) is part of a circular economy.

Post-consumer plastic is less damaging to the environment than virgin plastic since it does not require the extraction of new raw materials (hydrocarbons) and its manufacturing is less energy intensive

Polypropylene, plastic No. 5, is used in many industries. It is found in automobiles, in household appliances, in certain types of packaging, furniture fabrics and even in yogurt pots.

The use of polypropylene rather than PET (plastic from water bottles) reduces the carbon footprint linked to the manufacturing of the raw material by 40%

The production of a ciklo generates 4g of CO2 emissions, the same as the emissions caused by sending an email. Ciklo devices are made in Quebec: our manufacturers use hydroelectricity, which reduces the impact of their production compared to a similar product made on the other side of the planet.

A carbon-neutral object is a product “whose greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere are offset by eco-responsible actions or by the production and storage of renewable energy”.

To achieve carbon neutrality, we must first reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and then compensate for those that cannot be reduced.

With ciklo, we prefer to focus on our GHG reduction efforts rather than purchasing carbon credits to offset our emissions. We use recycled PP, which reduces emissions compared to recycled PET. We prioritize local companies to carry out the various stages of ciklo manufacturing, which reduces transportation emissions. Finally, ciklo are delivered in bulk and are not individually packaged.

The waste from the production of ciklo is directly returned to
the production line in order to be reground and reintegrated into the
ciklo production. When the color waste is too small
to be reinstated in the same color, they are then put back for the
production of black ciklo. If a ciklo does not pass quality control,
it is then disassembled to recover the cartridge and then reground for
be reintegrated into the production of ciklo.

Unfortunately, there is no cartridge production in Quebec yet; this is why we have opted for Schmidt cartridges made in Germany and with a longer lifespan than traditional cartridges.

Once recycled, the ciklo material is resold by the recycler to Quebec plastic product manufacturers. Our objective is to buy this recycled material in order to produce new ones. The circle is complete.