A bamboo pin in the starter kit

Last year, we paid a lot of attention to making our starter kit for pilgrims more sustainable. Our envelopes have been made from recycled maps from the very beginning. The bags we provide to clean up litter along the way are compostable, as is the packaging material. We have the route guide printed with vegetable ink on FSC-certified paper.

But we thought it was important to look for more sustainable materials for the lace, the Pilgrim’s pin and the bird rings. It could be more sustainable. For example, we have now been able to replace the leather lace with a cork lace.

Proud and happy
Not without pride and joy we now have a bamboo pin. It has been specially developed for us. Bamboo is a fast-growing material. As a result, no deforestation takes place. Bamboo is 100% recyclable.

Bambura on the route
The company that supplies the pins is on the route of the Walk of Wisdom: it is Bamdura in Ravenstein. Although they produce in China, the people who work there have good working conditions: the company is run by a Dutch owner.

Flexible
We compensate for the CO2 emissions from transporting the pins. From number 6,000 onwards, pilgrims receive a bamboo pin. Manja Bente, one of the coordinators of the Walk of Wisdom, has figured everything out: ‘I hope that the pilgrims will enjoy this new bamboo pilgrim’, she says. ‘We are very grateful to Bamdura for their flexibility and for thinking along with us to make the Pilgrim as strong as possible.’