Otrivin’s mission to bring clean air to India’s children

The initiative is driven by research by the World Health Organisation (WHO) which found that nearly all children (98%) in India breathe toxic air. Otrivin says this air is not only outdoors, but also in their classrooms – where children spend up to eight hours a day.

Armed with the knowledge that air pollution impacts neurodevelopment and cognitive ability and can trigger asthma, and childhood cancer, Otrivin partnered with Wunderman Thompson Singapore to create the ‘Otrivin Pollution Capture Pencils’ initiative.

The project purchased twenty-two air purifiers, with the ability to wipe out up to 74% airborne pollutants, and installed these inside and outside school buildings in Bengaluru, an area with considerably high pollution levels.

Three low-income schools within the city's industrial areas of Peenya, Hegganahalli and Mallasandra, were selected with the project aiming to improve air quality for over 1,500 young students.

During the initiative’s initial two-month period, the purifiers cleaned over 2 billion cubic feet of toxic air from the three schools. The specially-designed purifiers use revolutionary soot-cleaning technology developed by Indian innovation company Panjurli Labs.

The pollution residue captured by the machines was gathered and mixed with graphite to create the core of 10,000 custom-designed and certified non-toxic pencils.

The Otrivin’s Pollution Capture Pencils were distributed to students and also used as fundraising tools to help install more air purifiers in local schools.

Farhad Nadeem, global marketing & digital director, Otrivin, said the brand and its parent company the global consumer health company Haleon, are “led by our purpose – to help people breathe cleaner".

“The Otrivin Actions To Breathe Cleaner initiative is built on the premise that no action is too small when it comes to reducing our exposure to air pollution. The Otrivin ‘Pollution Capture Pencils’ pilot in India is one such action that attempts to convert air pollution into positivity. We hope that this initiative, while not solving India’s pollution challenge, inspires people to take simple actions to make the world a better place to live in and breathe.”

The initiative is supported by a campaign developed by Wunderman Thompson Singapore, in collaboration with Wunderman Thompson India and Grey London. The film was produced by Tandem Media Labs with director Shamik Sen Gupta.

Wunderman Thompson Singapore’s creative director, Aarti Nichlani, said, “Air pollution is not going away in a hurry. Meanwhile, it’s the poorest children who bear the greatest burden. An innovation like Pollution Capture Pencils helps make a change at a time when children need it most… today.”