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.
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.crayola.ca/ http://www.crayola.ca/about-us.aspx http://www.crayola.ca/about-us/company-profile/history.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 Amazon.com.
Popular Questions
In 1993 we conducted a poll to find out the most popular colours in America. Blue was voted the most popular CRAYOLA Crayon colour. Rounding the top ten were red, violet, green, carnation pink, black, turquoise blue, blue green, periwinkle and magenta. In 2000, we did another Crayola Colour Census, and blue again reigns as number one!
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.
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.crayola.com/factory/preview/factory_floor/crayon_mfg.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.
Crayola Markers are made of five components, which include a water based colour solution, a porous plastic nib, a plastic barrel, a cotton filament and a cap. The main ingredients in the colour solution are water and dyes. Specific ingredient information is proprietary. We produce approximately 465 million Crayola Markers per year.
Decorating sculptures made with Crayola® Air-Dry Clay is fun and easy!
- Paint: Thoroughly dry pieces may be painted with tempera, acrylic, or watercolour paint
- Markers: Non-Permanent & Washable Markers may not provide optimal coverage if you are colouring a large area of clay since the clay tends to clog the marker nib. Permanent pigment-based markers work well for writing words on the clay.
- Glitter Glue can be used to decorate dry artwork.
Other product suggestions: pigment-based stamping pads and metallic powder pigment embellishments.
If you have additional questions, we would love to hear from you! Feel free to call or text us at 1−800−272−9652 on weekdays between 9 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time.
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.
Yes, all Crayola® and Silly Putty® products are non-toxic to humans when used as intended and safe to use. Crayola has been a trusted brand in homes and schools for over 100 years, prioritizing safety since 1903.
Independent toxicologists consistently evaluate our products, confirming they contain no known toxic substances in quantities sufficient to harm the human body, even if ingested or inhaled. Both Crayola and Silly Putty art materials carry the Art and Creative Materials Institute’s (ACMI) APPROVED PRODUCT (AP) seal, indicating they meet or exceed specific quality standards.
Additional details regarding our commitment to the safety of our products can be found on our Product Safety page at Crayola.com.
For further assistance, please call or text us at 1−800−272−9652 on weekdays between 9 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time or visit our Support Page to send us an email.
