Stay Green In Your Back To School Routine
The end of summer often marks the beginning of a new chapter. But as the need for school supplies increases, we must consider the effects of our purchases. Whether you need backpacks or pencils, keep reading to discover the fashionable brands that are not only excellent for your class but also great for the environment.
Who Are They: Day Owl is a sustainable backpack brand that transforms recycled landfill-bound materials into fashionable everyday backpacks.
Price Range: $$$
Fun Fact: These products are made from materials such as plastic water bottles.
Who Are They: Terra Thread is a sustainable brand that sells a variety of school supplies ranging from book bags to pencil cases. All of their products are carbon neutral and are designed to help reduce plastic waste.
Price Range: $-$$
Fun Fact: Every purchase made through Terra Thread contributes to Feeding America's effort to end world hunger.
Who Are They: Fluf is a backpack and lunch bag company that makes goods that are ideal for traveling from class to class using no new plastic, organic cotton, or renewable materials. They employ biodegradable materials, and in 2022 they earned certification as a Climate Neutral brand.
Price Range: $$-$$$
Fun Fact: Fluf is 100% women-owned and operated.
Who Are They: PlanetBox is a sustainable brand that makes lunchboxes and bags for on-the-go use. Eating lunch is environmentally friendly thanks to the stainless steel lunchboxes and 100% recycled polyester bags.
Price Range: $$
Fun Fact: Utilizing PlanetBox lunchboxes prevents the disposal of more than 180 single-use containers.
Who Are They: Stasher is an eco-friendly brand that revolutionized zip-lock bags by making them reusable. These reusable zip-lock bags can be used to pack snacks for class and help limit the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills.
Price Range: $
Fun Fact: With the help of the Stasher Repurpose Program, consumers can recycle their old Stasher bags by sending them back.
Who Are They: Larq is a water purification brand that features a variety of products that purify water. Ranging from pitchers to water bottles that feature technology made for purifying water, Larq has helped users make the switch from single-use water bottles to reusable products that keep plastic out of landfills.
Price Range: $$-$$$
Fun Fact: A portion of each purchase is given to environmental non-profits.
Who Are They: One Movement is a reusable water bottle company active in several environmental projects. Purchasing one bottle is equivalent to purchasing 1000 plastic bottles, reducing the number of bottles that end up in the ocean.
Price Range: $$
Fun Fact: Their water bottles are made of partially recycled food-grade 18/8 stainless steel.
Who Are They: This world-renowned technology brand is well known for its simple and easy-to-use products, yet many do not realize that the materials used to create the products are easily recyclable materials. Along with becoming carbon neutral by 2030, the brand's take-back program, which allows users to trade in used products for credit, helps lower the amount of electronics ending up in landfills.
Price Range: $$$$-$$$$$
Fun Fact: Models such as the MacBook Pro 16-inch were made using 100% renewable energy and are made with 100% recycled tin while using 65% less energy.
Who Are They: Lenovo, a TCO Certified brand, manufactures products such as computers that are great for the classroom. Lenovo has pledged to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 by developing energy-efficient gadgets and adopting plastic-free packaging.
Price Range: $$$$
Fun Fact: Lenovo’s Asset Recovery Services allow users to recycle outdated technology.
Who Are They: Tentree is a sustainable clothing brand perfect for everyday use. Tentree uses recycled and organic materials to create comfy sweatshirts and activewear.
Price Range: $$-$$$
Fun Fact: For every item purchased, Tentree plants 10 trees.
Who Are They: Onyx + Green is a sustainable stationary brand that features products made from recycled materials. These eco-friendly pens, pencils, binders, and highlighters come in a variety of different materials and are perfect for school.
Price Range: $-$$
Fun Fact: The products are made from a variety of materials, such as recycled cork and milk cartons.
Who Are They: Decomposition is a sustainable notebook brand that creates stylish notebooks with recycled paper from 100% post-consumer waste. The notebooks come in a wide range of styles and are perfect for any subject in school.
Price Range: $
Fun Fact: Soy ink is used to create notebooks.
Who Are They: Sprout World is a sustainable brand that creates plantable pencils that turn allow users to recycle their used pencils by planting them. The pencils contain seeds which then turn into flowers.
Price Range: $
Fun Fact: These carbon-neutral pencils can be personalized just for a user and make the perfect writing product for school.
Who Are They: Worthwhile Paper is an eco-friendly brand that creates journals and notebooks with 100% recycled paper. These printed paper goods are made using water-based ink and come in a variety of prints and styles.
Price Range: $-$$
Fun Fact: These products are bound and assembled in Michigan.
Who Are They: Green Dreamers is a sustainable brand that creates planners made from recycled cotton and paper. These minimalistic planners come in a variety of prints and styles.
Price Range: $
Fun Fact: Green Dreamers has a journal featuring major social and eco-awareness dates.
As we stock up on increasingly disposable items, it's comforting to know that your purchase has less adverse effects on the environment. Sustainability is a way of life, not just a trend.
