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 of Quebecers. 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 reduces GHG emissions by 80% 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 manufacture of a bicycle is responsible for the emission of 4 g of CO2, i.e. the emissions caused by sending an email4. Ciklo are made in Quebec: our manufacturers use hydroelectricity, which reduces the impact of its manufacturing compared to a similar product made on the other side of the planet. In fact, this makes it possible to reduce emissions linked to its manufacturing by 99%5

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, you must first reduce your greenhouse gas emissions and then compensate for those that could not be reduced.

In the case of ciklo, we prefer to focus on our GHG reduction efforts rather than purchasing carbon credits to offset our emissions. We reduced GHG emissions by 99% by having it manufactured in Quebec. We use recycled PP, which reduces emissions by 40% compared to recycled PET. We have prioritized nearby companies to carry out the different stages of manufacturing the ciklo, which helps reduce emissions linked to transport. Finally, the ciklo are delivered in bulk.

If one of the ciklo does not pass quality control during assembly, it is directly put aside to be recycled with our partners at MultiRecycle. Thus, there are no losses during the manufacturing process since the cartridges are added to the ciklo after this quality control step.

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

The ciklo is sent to our MultiRecycle partners who are responsible for disassembling it (i.e. removing the cartridge) to ensure that the envelope is not contaminated and can be recycled. The latter is then sent to their recycler. Once recycled, the material can be reused by various Quebec manufacturers including kotmo.

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.