Humans produce excessive quantities of climate-damaging gases. The only solution is to reduce emissions. But it is impossible to completely eliminate emissions while still producing goods, so offsetting emissions is an important element of climate protection. As a result, when CO₂ is emitted at one location, it is saved at another, or possibly even eliminated. Therefore, real climate protection requires both aspects: true carbon emission savings or reductions, and creating a balance when emissions cannot be avoided.

Thus, offsetting only amounts to greenwashing when it is not accompanied by simultaneous efforts to reduce emissions.

Yes – CO₂ spreads throughout the earth’s atmosphere, so it doesn’t matter where the carbon savings occur. Beside avoiding and reducing carbon emissions, offsetting is an important step in climate protection.

However, it is important for climate protection projects to meet internationally recognized standards and be monitored by independent organizations. In our case, myclimate monitors the projects we support.

Projects must meet the following criteria:

• Additionality, i.e. implementing the project is really only possible because it receives money from offsetting.
• No double counting, i.e. the emissions savings are only offset against a specific carbon emission. The certificate is sold only once.
• Permanence, i.e., the emissions savings must be permanent, lasting more than just a few years.
• Regular auditingby independent third parties, i.e. the compliance of climate protection projects with the criteria must be audited at regular intervals by independent third parties such as TÜV, SGS, or PwC, and the carbon savings must be quantified retrospectively.

Yes, the surface of the STABILO Grow wooden shaft is treated with natural linseed oil. The oil penetrates into the wood’s pores, protecting it against dirt and moisture without completely sealing the surface.

Since the protection diminishes with use, we recommend updating the treatment regularly. Simple cooking oil can be used for this purpose, which refreshes and restores the wood.

Wood is a natural raw material. It is normal for the color to change over time, as you may have encountered with wooden tables or floors.

At the factory, STABILO Grow’s wooden surface is treated with natural linseed oil to protect the wood from moisture and dirt. If you regularly restore the oil layer, the pen will remain protected and retain its appearance for longer – just use household cooking oil.

Heavy soiling, such as ink, should be removed as quickly as possible with water and a mild soap. However, since wood has open pores, sometimes it is not possible to completely remove stains that have penetrated deeply. Nonetheless, over time they may fade or disappear altogether.

Heavy soiling, such as ink, should be removed as quickly as possible with water and a mild soap. However, since wood has open pores, sometimes it is not possible to completely remove stains that have penetrated deeply. Nonetheless, over time they may fade or disappear altogether.

Yes, the STABILO Grow shaft is made of real oak, beech, or cherry wood from sustainable, FSC®-certified European forestry. For all the parts, our goal was to use only as much material as really necessary, so the shaft wall thickness was also minimized in order to avoid unnecessary consumption of resources.

However, we’ve discovered through user testing that the low weight is actually an advantage for the product, making the pen very comfortable to hold.

The STABILO Grow is a durable, high-quality product that will hopefully be with you and bring you joy for a long time. However, once it reaches its end, the STABILO Grow must be disposed of via residual waste for thermal disposal.

As things currently stand, recycling is unfortunately not yet possible. We have been able to future-proof the newly developed components of the STABILO Grow to enable recycling in the future, but unfortunately the circular economy has not yet reached the point where products can be returned to STABILO. We will continue to work on these issues in the future to improve our products even further and make them even more environmentally friendly.

Unfortunately, this issue is a bit complicated and can easily lead to confusion.

The term “bioplastics” is used both for biobased plastics, whose production is based on renewable raw materials of natural origin, and plastics that are biodegradable or compostable. However, bioplastics are not always both. Compostable bioplastics exist that use fossil fuels as the raw materials, and there are also bioplastics based on renewable raw materials that are not degradable. Thus, the precise term for the material used in the Grow is “biobased polymer”.

STABILO deliberately chooses not to use raw materials based on corn starch or sugar cane, since we want to rule out any issue of competition with possible foodstuffs. The renewable raw materials used in the STABILO Grow’s plastic components are sunflower seed hulls, cellulose, and tall oil. All three raw materials are byproducts of manufacturing other products. This approach manages to still find a use for actual waste, while achieving even better utilization of the base material (wood or sunflower seeds). 

The material used at STABILO is a bioplastic based on renewable raw materials, namely tall oil and cellulose, both obtained from sustainable, certified wood. However, the bioplastic is not biodegradable or compostable.

For a product that you hold in your hand regularly and that will be with you for years, this is the better choice, because degradability requires a plastic that is susceptible to moisture and bacteria – not a desirable feature in a fountain pen.

Since the fountain pen consists of various parts, made from different materials that are permanently connected to each other, it must be disposed of in normal household waste, which will presumably be thermally disposed, i.e. incinerated in a waste-to-energy plant.

Bioplastics made from renewable raw materials, i.e. plants, entail significantly lower carbon emissions than plastics made from raw materials based on fossil fuels. They also conserve scarce petroleum resources. As they grow, plants absorb CO₂ and bind it, and it is not released again when the plastic is produced. This means bioplastics have a significantly smaller carbon footprint and help minimize gases that are harmful to the climate.