An eye-catching campaign from nasal health company Otrivin and creative agency Wunderman Thompson is turning captured air pollution into pencils for Indian school children.
According to the World Health Organisation, 98% of children in India breathe polluted air both when they are outside and in the classroom. Air pollution can have a detrimental effect on neurological development, as well as causing asthma and cancer in children.
To raise awareness of the issue, Otrivin partnered with consumer health brand Haleon for a clean air initiative that turns toxic particles into pencils. Three schools in low-income areas in Bengaluru suffering from particularly bad levels of air pollution were outfitted with air purifiers capable of cleaning 74% of affected air. The machines were installed inside and outside of the schools, improving air quality for more than 1,500 students in the area.
Over a two-month period, the air purifiers cleaned two billion cubic feet of air. The pollution residue collected was then mixed with graphite to create the core of the custom-designed pencils. The non-toxic stationery was then distributed around the schools, and will be used to raise funds to expand the initiative.
With poor air quality having a strongly negative impact on children’s health around the world, initiatives like this will continue to raise awareness and protect more children in the future.
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