Disposable biros are a bit of classic product, but if you write a lot, the chances are that you'll chuck a fair number of them away in your lifetime. Not so nice for the environment, but then we saw this from DBA who are a New York based product development company founded in 2008 with the goal of developing unique products that combine aesthetic strength, technical innovation, and ecologically effective principles.

Not available yet, but coming soon, is their take on the disposable biro that is the only 98% biodegradable pen in the world. It’s also the only pen to use ink composed of simple, pronounceable ingredients. Produced at a wind-powered facility in the United States, it was designed as a responsible alternative to the wasteful and often toxic pens we use almost every day. And with its straight forward design and rollerball tip, it looks good and writes well too.

So then we started delving into what else DBA designs - and we were impressed. Other standout products include a very good looking heater, a super simple and super functional dish rack, a lovely minimal extension lead and some high quality note books to fill up with ink from their pen...

A disparate range perhaps, but all of them have two things in common which we like a lot: elegant, minimal styling, and a sustainable, responsible production process.