From one 16 ounce single-use plastic bottle, Pilot Pen makes two refillable, recyclable pens—in four colors.

The B2P, or “Bottle to Pen,” is composed of 89% recycled post consumer product.

To date, Pilot has sold more than 2.5 million B2Ps in the United States and some 12 million in Europe in just two years, according to Robert Silberman, vice president of marketing for Pilot Pen Corporation of America. The B2P is “a clear success so far,” he added.

I agree. It’s taken more than 7 million used plastic bottles, made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and upcycled them into something useful and provocative.

“Cool,” is what most people say when I show them.

Except for one devil’s advocate, he thought it was rather commercial. So I contacted Pilot on a whim, (brownie points for being so accessible and communicative for a blog piece,) and found the proof is indeed in the penning.

Changing a Pen Giant’s Production

The addition of B2P replaced a percentage of virgin material in Pilot Pen’s overall manufacturing.

“Our long-term plan/goal is to expand our overall B2P brand and expand our overall BeGreeN recycled line of products. This will mean more use of recycled PET and less use of virgin materials,” said Silberman.

While production of the pen does however constitute an 11% need for virgin plastic, compared to others making pens from 100% virgin plastic, 11% is not too shabby for one of the largest and most widely distributed pen labels.

Seriously On-Point

The B2P is my new BF. It’s comfortable to write with. Though I use sugar cane byproduct, recycled, and used paper, I admit to regularly taking handwritten notes and fleshing out ideas long-hand.

Perhaps I both date and implicate myself, but there is something to be said for working offline and saving energy.

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