可种植铅笔:噱头还是环保

 　　The creations made by Danish company Sprout¹ focus on things you can recycle and plant like pencils, cards and stickers.

　　Their plantable pencils are one of their hot products.

　　As the name suggests, plantable pencils are fitted with a small biodegradable capsule at the end that contains seeds.

　　Michael Stausholm, Sprout's chief executive, says once the pencil has been sharpened to a stub, it can be planted in soil instead of being thrown away.

　　可种植铅笔:噱头还是环保

　　"It shows people – kids, grownups – in a very easy way what is sustainability all about. Don't just use things and throw them away. Use things, and then use them for something else. In this case, planting it and giving it new life."

　　The seeds inside the capsules range from flowers to herbs and fruiting plants.

　　Sprout's product developer Helle Hougaard runs regular tests to ensure their pencils contain the best possible variety of a particular seed.

　　"One of the very fast-growing seeds are basil and marigold, they germinate² within a week or so, they are quite fast. And especially basil and mint are very popular (with customers) all around the world."

　　The botanist³ also says they are testing out more varieties, especially those difficult to grow in cooler northern European homes.

　　But some are downplaying their importance when it comes to longer term sustainability.

　　Carsten Beck is the director of research at the Copenhagen Institute for Futures⁴ Studies and takes a particular interest in retail⁵ and consumer trends and sustainability.

　　"Gimmicks⁷ put a smile on your face, they create awareness⁸, they say, 'OK, here we are, we have thought about sustainability'. That's cool and fun, and we will always have that. The gimmick⁶ part of the equation when it comes to sustainability will not be part of the core strategies of companies, because gimmicks are still gimmicks."

　　Back at Sprout's headquarters in the Copenhagen suburbs, Stausholm says his plantable products can still make an impact.

　　"We don't proclaim that we save the planet at all, but it's a small thing, it's the small things that we do in our everyday lives, step by step. We can all make a difference in the way we think when we consume."

　　Stausholm says Sprout now sells between 300 thousand and 400 thousand pencils a month.

　　IKEA, Disney, Pepsi, and Bank of America, as well as public bodies and municipalities, are all on Sprout's customer list.

　　They are also developing small waterproof⁹ boxes called "Tiny Gardens", targeted at people who don't want to keep soil in the kitchen.

　　For CRI, this is Fei Fei.

1 sprout   

n.芽，萌芽；vt.使发芽，摘去芽；vi.长芽，抽条

参考例句：

• When do deer first sprout horns?鹿在多大的时候开始长出角？
• It takes about a week for the seeds to sprout.这些种子大约要一周后才会发芽。

2 germinate   

v.发芽；发生；发展

参考例句：

• Seeds will not germinate without water.没有水，种子是不会发芽的。
• Can thin and hollow seeds germinate?瘦瘪的种子能够发芽吗？

3 botanist   

n.植物学家

参考例句：

• The botanist introduced a new species of plant to the region.那位植物学家向该地区引入了一种新植物。
• I had never talked with a botanist before,and I found him fascinating.我从没有接触过植物学那一类的学者，我觉得他说话极有吸引力。

4 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

5 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

6 gimmick   

n.(为引人注意而搞的)小革新，小发明

参考例句：

• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。
• It is just a public relations gimmick.这只不过是一种公关伎俩。

7 gimmicks   

n.花招，诡计，骗人的玩意儿( gimmick的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Financial institutions are also often expected yield of gimmicks. 金融机构也往往以预期收益率为噱头。 来自互联网
• However these are just marketing gimmicks that propagate the myth. 然而这些只是噱头的营销传播的神话。 来自互联网

8 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

9 waterproof   

n.防水材料；adj.防水的；v.使...能防水

参考例句：

• My mother bought me a waterproof watch.我妈妈给我买了一块防水手表。
• All the electronics are housed in a waterproof box.所有电子设备都储放在一个防水盒中。