Lunch at the AZA (Assoc. of Zoos and Aquariums) annual meeting in Philadelphia. I show up, and on my chair is a pin in the shape of an elephant. Cute. I fumble with it and finally pin it on. Then someone says, lo and behold, did you know, those pins are made of recycled elephant poop? (I reach for my Purell.)
All jesting aside, the pins are part of a lineup of eco friendly papers made from elephant dung in Sri Lanka. Yes, elephant dung. Because the elephants are vegetarian, the poop is largely cellulose which lends itself to the handcrafted paper-making process. And the income from this fair-trade process provides incentives for villagers to value elephants, rather than put them in conflict with elephants over agricultural land use.
So, I'm pleased to wear my elephant poo pin on my shirt, and am looking into making business cards out of the natural fiber paper. You can check the project out here.