Our Top 8 Sustainable Picks for Back to School
September means Back to School, but this year is set to look a little different than ever before. In 2020, several students will attend school virtually from home, while many will need to stay safe while going back to school.
To give you inspiration for how you can make your at-home classroom a little more productive for yourself or your kids, or how to stay safe at school, we've gathered a list of 8 amazing eco-friendly products that will help you start the school year right.
We only partner with brands we can get behind. In other words, you can rest assured that all of the pieces handpicked below will fit your shopping cartâs high standards. Because we wouldnât have it any other way.
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1. Patagonia
Why Youâll Love Them | 1% For the Planet, Recycled and Organic Materials
Our Pick | Tamangito Pack
About the Brand |
Patagonia was designed by nature lovers for nature lovers, inspired by minimalist styles often seen sported by mountain climbers and surfers. Offering a range of quality apparel and accessories made from sustainably sourced and recycled materials, Patagonia has become a world-famous brand, and used its success to fuel nature conservation and environmental efforts. The Tamangito Pack is a sturdy, lightweight, and compact backpack with built in organizer compartments to keep your schoolwork organized, even if it stays at home.Â
2. W&P
Why Youâll Love Them | Food Educators for Public Schools, Reusable Waste-Free Products, Community Giveback Programs
Our Pick | Porter Seal-Tight Bowl
About the Brand | Built on the idea that the tools you use to cook and eat should have a positive impact on you and the world around you, W&P designs sustainable kitchen tools using the highest quality materials possible. Free from disposable plastics and harmful chemicals, W&P designed products are super eco-friendly and stylish to boot. W&Pâs Porter Collection of to-go containers was created to help parents kick disposables and single-use plastics to the curb, offering a sustainable, easy, and safe way to pack lunches and snacks.
3. Indigo
Why Youâll Love Them | Woman Led, Funds School Literacy Programs
Our Pick | Cork Lap Desk
About the Brand | A unique, Canada based cultural department store, Indigo offers customers a broad range of products to help enrich their lives. Indigo Paper, the companyâs line of seasonal paper and office products, is fully stocked with tons of back to school items, including the Good Earth cork lap desk. Made from eco-friendly natural cork, this lap desk is perfect for taking classes online from the couch, reading in bed, or finishing up homework while lounging in your favorite armchair.
4. Seltzer Goods
Why Youâll Love Them | Woman Led, Reusable Products
Our Pick | Seven Year Pens
About the Brand | Seltzer Goods is a little slice of design happiness, staffed and led by a creative team of designers and merchants. Among the many beautiful curiosities available from Seltzer Goods, their most well known product is their Seven Year Pen. Designed to last for years without running out of ink, the Seven Year Pen will replace those flimsy plastic ones youâve been using, helping you to reduce your personal ecological footprint.
5. SoYoung
Why Youâll Love Them | PVC, Phthalate, and BPA Free Products, Promoting Holistic Wellness
Our Pick | Lunch Poche
About the Brand | SoYoung is built on the idea that preparing your own food can help you to build a better relationship with nutrition, live a healthier life, and reduce your ecological footprint. Eating out and eating processed foods contributes significantly to global waste and pollution, which is why SoYoung has designed products to encourage people to do the cooking at home. The SoYoung Lunch Poche isnât the plasticky, ugly lunchbox of your childhood - these are stylish, minimalist, grown up lunch bags that will get you excited to pack lunch.
6. Pela Vision
Why Youâll Love Us | Biodegradable, Full UVA/UVB Protection
Our Pick | Sulu Sunglasses with Blue Light Lenses
About the Brand | The Pela Vision âvisionâ is to reduce the amount of plastic waste created by the sunglasses industry. One of the most commonly lost items is sunglasses, and most of us can identify with the gut wrenching feeling of realizing your shades are still enjoying the beach when you are already an hour away. Pela Vision sunglasses are made from biodegradable materials that wonât last centuries in a landfill. Should you lose a pair of Pela sunglasses, you wonât have to feel any environmental guilt.
7. Habitat Botanicals
Why Youâll Love Us | Vegan & Cruelty Free
Our Pick | Hand Sanitizer Glass Bottle
About the Brand | Habitat Botanicals creates natural bath products that are as gentle on the planet as they are on your skin and hair. Each product is crafted using high-quality food-grade ingredients that are 100% biodegradable, so you wonât feel any guilt washing them down the drain. All shipping materials are plastic free and zero-waste.
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8. Pela Case
Why Youâll Love Us | 100% Compostable, Climate Neutral Certified
Our Pick | Honey Bee Case
About the Brand | Creator of the worldâs first fully compostable phone case, Pela is on a mission to eliminate plastic waste one product at a time. Rather than needing to be tossed in a landfill at the end of their useful lives, Pela phone cases can be dropped in a compost bin where they will fully decompose within just a few short months. Pela offers tons of phone case varieties for virtually every type of smartphone, and is constantly releasing new and exciting patterns and styles for their trendy customers.Â
To help reduce the spread of COVID-19, Pela Case is offering a limited time Buy One Get One Free promotion! When you purchase any compostable Pela Case, youâll receive a second for free, so you can disinfect one while keeping your phone safe with the other.
Learn more about Pela, environmental sustainability, and how you can choose products to reduce your carbon footprint. While you browse, be sure to check out the Pela Blog for more monthly product guides and tons of tips, tricks, and advice for green living.Â
