Where can I get historical information about your company for a school report?

We are flattered you are interested in learning about Crayola! The company began as Binney ; Smith when cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith took over the pigment business owned by Edwin’s father. Early products included red oxide pigment used in barn paint, carbon black for car tires, slate pencils, and ​“dustless” chalk. After noticing a need for safe, high quality, affordable wax crayons, Crayola produced the first box of eight crayons in 1903 and sold them for 5 cents. The trade name Crayola was coined by Mrs. Edwin Binney. She joined the French word ​“craie”, meaning chalk and ​“ola” from the word ​“oleaginous”, meaning oily. The first box of crayon colours consisted of red, yellow, blue, green, orange, violet (purple), brown and black. To learn more, check out the below sites that Crayola maintains. Be sure and visit these for a variety of information about our company and its products: http://​www​.cray​ola​.ca/ http://​www​.cray​ola​.ca/​a​b​o​u​t​-​u​s​.aspx http://​www​.cray​ola​.ca/​a​b​o​u​t​-​u​s​/​c​o​m​p​a​n​y​-​p​r​o​f​i​l​e​/​h​i​s​t​o​r​y​.aspx We also offer a photocopied booklet titled ​“Story of a Rainbow”, which contains detailed early history. To receive a copy in the postal mail, please call (800) 272‑9652 weekdays between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM Eastern time. ​“Edwin Binney: The Founder of Crayola Crayons” is part of the Lives and Times Series, published by Heinemann-Raintree. The book offers history behind the founding of Binney ; Smith and can be purchased through Barnes ; Noble or Ama​zon​.com.
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Throughout Crayola’s history, several crayon colours have been retired, marking significant moments in the evolution of our vibrant palette. 

1990
For the first time in Crayola history eight colours were retired and placed in the Crayola Hall of Fame: blue gray, green blue, lemon yellow, maize, orange red, orange yellow, raw umber, and violet blue. 

Eight new colours were added: cerulean, dandelion, fuchsia, jungle green, royal purple, teal blue, vivid tangerine, and wild strawberry. 

2003
Celebrating a century of bringing colour to the world, Crayola introduced four new colours named by Crayola fans! To make room for the new hues, we bid farewell to blizzard blue, magic mint, mulberry, and teal blue. 

The four new colours that were introduced are: inchworm, jazzberry jam, mango tango, and wild blue yonder. 

Kudos to our hue heroes – the consumers who voted in the ​“Save the Shade” campaign, ensuring burnt sienna stayed in the pack. 

2017
To mark National Crayon Day on March 31st, we announced Dandelion was leaving the pack. To honor this iconic colour, we sent Dandelion on a retirement tour to his favorite places. His replacement, Bluetiful, was announced on May 5, 2017.

Crayola Canada’s community relations program supports non-profit organizations located across Canada, with an emphasis on the arts and education.

How To Apply

Requests for donations must be submitted on your organization’s letterhead with your contact information by email, or mail. If sending your request by email, you will receive an automatic reply acknowledging that your email has been received. If you do not receive this confirmation within 5 business days, please call Amanda Pascoe at Crayola Canada. 

Email:apascoe@​crayola.​com
Phone Number: 1−705−212−4399
 

Mailing Address:

Crayola Canada
Donations Department
P.O. Box 120
15 Mary St. West
Lindsay, Ontario
K9V 4R8
Attn: Amanda Pascoe

What To Include

We ask that you include the following required information in your letter:

  • Date of your event
  • If you require confirmation earlier than one month prior to your event, please provide us with a time frame needed to receive a response.
  • Details of your event
  • Shipping Address
  • Telephone number, if we need to contact you
  • Contact person’s name, phone, and email address
  • What you would like to receive – i.e., door prize, art supplies for craft area, etc.


Please be advised that it may take up to three weeks for your request to be reviewed. Only organizations selected to receive a donation will be contacted.

Crayola Crayons are made primarily from paraffin wax and colour pigment. Paraffin wax is made especially for Crayola by companies who extract it from products like wood and coal. Pigments come from various sources. They can be natural or man made substances. Pigments can be found in the earth, minerals and/​or made in laboratories. These raw materials are purchased from outside suppliers and are stored in our warehouse awaiting production. All of our raw materials are delivered by truck with the exception of paraffin wax, which is delivered in railroad cars. Further information is considered proprietary. If you need more information, please call us at (800) 272‑9652 weekdays between 9 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time. A representative will be happy to assist you.

The basic ingredients contained in Crayola Crayons are paraffin wax and colour pigment. The ingredients are the same for all Crayola Crayon colours, with some modifications in special effects crayons. We manufacture almost 3 billion crayons each year. The paraffin wax is melted and mixed together with pre-measured amounts of colour pigments. We purchase the powder pigments and either use individual colours or mix the pigments to produce the many colours of Crayola Crayons. The hot wax mixture is poured into moulding machines. In about four to seven minutes, the crayons cool and become solid. The crayon manufacturing process can be viewed on our web site by visiting http://​www​.cray​ola​.com/​f​a​c​t​o​r​y​/​p​r​e​v​i​e​w​/​f​a​c​t​o​r​y​_​f​l​o​o​r​/​c​r​a​y​o​n​_​m​f​g.htm. There is a book available titled ​“Crayons From Start To Finish”. The book offers a behind-the-scenes look at the whole manufacturing process. To obtain this book, please visit your local library. As a further reference, the ISBN is 1−56711−390−7 and the author of the book is Samuel G. Woods.

In 1903, we introduced the first box of 8 Crayola Crayons and sold them for a nickel. Included were the same 8 colours that are found in an 8‑pack today: red yellow blue green orange brown violet (purple) black.

Crayola® products are sold through a network of distributors and retail stores. Crayola does not authorize resellers in any online marketplace. This includes Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Alibaba, etc.

Is your business or organization interested in ordering directly from Crayola in Canada?

To establish a buying account with Crayola for distribution in Canada, a $1,500 opening order and an annual commitment are required. Products are sold in full case quantities, and drop shipping is not available. 

For pricing catalogs and order information, please contact our direct sales department via email at buydirectcanada@​crayola.​com.

Unable to meet our minimum requirements or seeking individual product purchases?

If you cannot meet our minimum requirements or are interested in purchasing individual products, please contact one of our authorized distributors for pricing:

Staples Professional

877−272−2121

easyservice@​staples.​com

https://​www​.sta​ples​.ca/​a​/​c​o​n​t​e​n​t​/​s​t​a​p​l​e​s​-​p​r​o​f​e​s​s​ional

Novexco

877−597−3261

Client.​support@​novexco.​ca

https://​novex​co​.com/​e​n​/​home/

Kid Toy

800−897−5107

ventes@​kidtoy.​ca

https://​www​.kid​toy​.ca/

Canadian Workplace Solutions

519−653−8984

info@​canadianworkplacesolutions.​ca

https://​cana​di​an​work​places​o​lu​tions​.ca/​l​o​c​a​t​e​-​a​-​d​ealer
 


Are you looking to export products internationally?

To export products internationally, please contact the appropriate international office for assistance.

Have questions?

Call or text us at 1 – 800-Crayola or visit our Support Page to send an email. 

Because Crayola Marker components are securely sealed during the manufacturing process, we don’t recommend trying to remove the marker nib and reservoir to recycle the barrel. The marker caps can be recycled at facilities that accept #5 plastic. 

Green is more than just a colour to us! Click here to learn more about Crayola’s sustainability initiatives.

Dry Model Magic:

  • Paint with Crayola Watercolour, Tempera, Acrylic, and washable paints or decorated with Crayola Markers.

Wet Model Magic:

  • Colour with watercolour paint and markers; however, the colours will be lighter, and the pieces may take longer to dry.
  • Add colour before modeling by kneading drops of watercolour, tempera, acrylic, or washable paints into the compound.
  • Create your own colours by mixing white and different colours of Model Magic.