Pure Living Founder Lakshmi Menon Converts used Entree pens made from Newspaper into a Tree

A social enterprise ‘Pure Living’ was born from one saying “If you can’t do great things, do small things in a great way” by Napoleon Hill.  

PURE stands for Products Up cycled Recycled and Economized.  

Lakshmi Menon is a designer by profession & a serial social entrepreneur. Her design works range from Interior, Fashion, Jewellery, and products to Events & Venues.   

She has founded ‘Pure Living’ company which specializes in socially beneficial businesses.    

Entree pens (Images source: The Better India)  

Pure Living has distributed ‘Entree’ pens, which were labeled ‘With Love. Malayalam alphabets are printed on the surface of these pens to propagate the language.

Entree pens are handmade by women and the differently-abled. It’s completely degradable except for the refill. At the bottom of each pen, there is a seed of a tree to convert the used pen into a tree!    

Pure Living founder Lakshmi Menon (Images credit: Good Karma Foundation)  

Lakshmi calls the pens ‘Entree’ because they symbolize an entry by the user into eco-friendly living, reports The Better India.  

She sells each pen for Rs 12 while competing with plastic ballpoints that sell for Rs 5 each. But for customers who do not mind spending some more for a good cause, she makes metal-bodied refills.  

Recently actor Mammootty inaugurated ‘Entree’, a green campaign of ‘Pure Living’, at Village International School in Thodupuzha on World Environment Day.  

Images credit: Pure Living  

One lakh paper pens will be distributed as part of the green campaign this year by the organization, as reported by TOI.  

Lakshmi Menon, chief facilitator of the organization said, “We will give the pens to 500 students. They can use and dispose of it without damaging the environment and letting the seed grow.”  

The paper pen is an amazing eco-friendly alternative to plastic ballpoint pens, it addresses plastic waste as well as contains seeds that can grow into trees.  

Rolapena – a pen made out of paper! A small eco-conscious venture; focuses on reducing the plastic in the pen.   

Rolapencil which saves trees as it utilizes used newspaper and can be sharpened using regular sharpener (Image credit: Pure Living)  

She has also invented a pen rolling machine (patent pending) and set up a pen rolling unit for women in villages of Varanasi as a joint venture with Reliance and the International Institute of Waste Management (IIWM).  

Her other business venture ‘Ammoommathiri’ for the elderly in poor old age homes.   

‘Wisdom is an initiative to make wicks for oil lamps out of cotton yarn. The loving hands behind this initiative belong to the elders in poor homes. They find relief in this activity to use their time effectively and also to have an additional source of income.  

In past, Lakshmi Menon has won many awards:

• Kairali TV Woman social entrepreneur of the year, JWALA AWARD-2015 for project Ammommathiri/Wicksdom

Image source: Twitter

• Felicitated by Amitabh Bacchan on Star Plus, produced by BBC World on the show ‘Aaj Ki Raath Hey Zindagi’ to be aired as Diwali Special on Nov 8th 2015

For easy availability, Pure Living has facilitated the distribution of these pens at convenience stores in schools, bookstores, stationery shops, boutiques, and other similar outlets.