In 1967 Rikagaku expanded its production and added a factory in Bibai-shi, Hokkaido Japan. Bibai-shi, which translates to, “beautiful shell city,” actually had massive waste piles of scallop shells that were causing serious environmental issues. It seemed only natural to reduce, reuse and recycle this material. With the help of local government they developed a patented process to recycle these shell byproducts. The use of powdered shells had the additional benefit of making Rikagaku Chalks stronger, smoother, and longer lasting! It’s no surprise that more than 60% of the chalks currently used by schools in Japan are Rikagaku Chalks.

As they continued our product development, they explored ideas for an innovative material that works on surfaces like paper, glass, mirrors and whiteboards. In 2005 they introduced buttery smooth, truly multi-surface, vividly colored and water soluble Kitpas Art Crayons which are also completely non-toxic and easy to clean up. They soon became both kids' and parents' favorite choice of crayons, winning Japan’s prestigious “Stationary of the Year Award” in 2009.