This one time, a few Februarys ago, we had a conversation with an elephant. Actually, let’s back up a little bit.

Two families went to Thailand with their children, excited to see that part of the world, especially the beaches! for the first time. Ready to be inspired, when they got there everyone instead was heartbroken. There were more plastic bottle caps than seashells. Single-use grocery bags were tangled in the branches of tiny trees along the shore. It was gross.

Later that day, they met a pack of elephants at a wildlife rescue. One elephant was very old. While eating bananas and sugarcane, she walked up and started talking. This part probably sounds silly. Figuring she must have seen the heartache on their faces from earlier that day, they — well, we — felt she came over to tell us to stop moping around and do something about it. She actually said it with her giant eyes. No one on the trip spoke elephant. True story.

Once back home, we started working. Solving the world’s single-use plastic problem was going to take creativity. So, we thought, let’s start there. LOKA, the Thai word for Earth and planet, was born. We’re excited you’re joining us on the journey to explore creativity while ridding the world of single-use plastics. Creativity is never done, so we’re not, either. But we’re moving in the right direction. Oh, and if you’re over that way, tell that elephant we said hello. Let her know we’re working on our promise.

We’re using creativity to rid the world of all single-use plastic. There is no reason for almost any of it. We started with kids’ markers because every kid we meet wants to take action. They care. Plus, we’re leaving them a planet in lousy shape. Let’s fix it. 

It should feel gross when anyone throws away a plastic marker, because it is. We cannot stop here. Now, everywhere we look, there’s something we can do better. 

We are giving you something to do right now. Every marker set purchased instead of theirs helps the planet. Thank you for your support of LOKA. We are a small but energetic company. We cannot outspend the competition with advertising, so we’re counting on our friends to spread the word. If you know someone who might love LOKA, please send them our way.