Sustainable Stationery for Eco Scholars & Offices
No need to buy new stationery each year — rather reuse what you already have and shop secondhand. Where you need to buy, buy these eco-friendly school and office supplies options instead and invest in reusable stationery…
The least wasteful practice is always using what you already have, so firstly dig out last years stationery and books with blank pages and resurrect what still works for this year’s work.
For those items that have come to their end of life, you can’t recycle it in your curbside bin, but you can recycle old stationery through various other avenues like Biome’s recycling program (AU), which accepts pens for recycling, and in a TerraCycle Office Separation Zero Waste Recycle Bin, which can be used to recycle any art supplies and office supplies.
Another option is buying secondhand stationery or school bags from second-hand stores or online avenues. Any tech needed for this year’s learning can be bought refurbished (better for the planet and a better price!). You can get secondhand refurbished technology online from Amazon Renewed, Boost Mobile (AU), Back Market US, Decluttr US, Back Market UK, or Music Magpie (UK). We share more about buying and reusing used electronics and more places where you can find them here: Where to Buy a Secondhand Phone or Device Online.
When buying new, look for products made from recycled material, plastic-free alternatives, and reusable alternatives to your usual stationery items like these…
1. Plastic-free highlighterS
Not only plastic free, but lasting way longer than infuriatingly quick to run out plastic highlighters and highlighting without bleeding through to the other side of the paper, highlighter pencils are the way of the future! They are made from wood and clay-based colour.
2. Reusable Notebooks
Pages all full and finished? You don’t throw away these books entirely - just replace the pages inside with new pages and reuse the cover over and over again!
Buttonworks notebooks (AU) made from sustainably sourced Australian timber allow the enclosed notebook to be replaced.
Vent for Change’s (UK) refillable journal and weekly planner comes with a non-dated weekly planner and a lined refill. The old used pages can be slid out and replaced with a number of refill options, including coloured paper.
3. Biodegradable paper tape / Washi Tape
Made from paper rather than plastic, this plastic-free tape can be recycled. All natural washi tape that it is made from all biodegradable materials can also be composted. Look for an eco-friendly brand that uses recycled paper and/or natural materials. Steer clear of paper tape that includes synthetic components like foil or glitter.
4. Refillable pens
Pens can be refilled and reused rather than single use. Replacing the ink or ballpoint pen cartridge saves the whole pen from having to be discarded and replaced. There are many regular pens that can be refilled and pen refills (US). Some fancier more sustainable refillable pens are:
Earth Greetings refillable bamboo ballpoint pen (AU)
Lousy Liner (AU) refillable 100% recycled plastic and printer ink liner pens
Ecopaper FSC timber ballpoint pen (AU) - refill the timber barrel with a standard ballpoint ink when empty
Ballpark Seat Pens (US) can be refilled with an internationally available rollerball pen refill and are made from salvaged seats of historic baseball stadiums
Agood Company’s Natural Grass Pen has refill cartridges (US)
5. Stapleless stapler
A stapler that staples without staples! Never run out of staples again! Instead of using staples, which constantly need to be replaced, the stapleless stapler punches a small hole and tab to fix three sheets of paper together. From reviews I’ve read, it seems to work well for a few pages, but not for stapling lots of pages together.
Staple-Less stapleless stapler (AU)
6. Recycled Yearly Planners & notebooks
For those who still prefer to plan with, note down on, pour their feelings out with, and sketch on pen and paper, you can get planners, notebooks and sketchbooks made from recycled or upcycled materials rather than new resources.
Earth Greetings planners (AU)
Decomposition spiral notebooks and bound notebooks (AU)
Vent for Change recycled leather refillable weekly planners and journals, and recycled lined notebooks (UK)
A Beautiful Story notebooks (UK) - made using cotton waste from the fashion industry
Worthwhile Paper recycled planner, sketchbook, and notepads (US)
Agood Company stone paper journals, diarys, and notebooks (US) - made from reused stone and recycled construction debris
7. Replacing plastic parts with bamboo
Brands are using biodegradable bamboo instead of plastic for these school essentials and office supplies:
Bamboo math set (US)
Bamboo push pins (US)
Bamboo ruler (US)
Bamboo stapler (US)
Search for whatever stationery you need in the form of bamboo stationery - you’ll be surprised what you can find.
8. More eco-friendly pens & pencils
Many pencils have a plastic outer layer. Ones made from recycled newspaper avoid this and use non-toxic lead instead! Pens can also be made from 100% recycled plastic instead of virgin plastic. And pencils can be plantable, biodegrading and growing into a plant when placed in soil.
Onyx + Green (AU) recycled newspaper coloured pencils
Lousy Liner (AU) 100% recycled plastic and printer ink liner pens
Eco Pen Club (AU) highlighters with a paper pen tube that create 75% less waste and 85% less plastic than a normal highlighter
Sprout Plantable Pencils (US) - once they’re too short to use, plant them and they’ll grow into a sunflower, daisy, spruce tree, carnation, or forget me not
Ballpark Seat Pens (US) made from salvaged seats of historic baseball stadiums and uses an internationally available rollerball pen refill
Agood Company Natural Grass Pen (US) made from natural meadow grass paired with BPA-free plastics
Onyx and Green (US) recycled plastic gel pens and mechanical pencils, recycled newspaper pencils, recycled ground coffee beans ballpoint pen, and recycled plastic highlighters
Vent for Change (UK) recycled plastic bottle ballpoint pens and recycled CD case pencils
9. Pencil cases from reused materials
With so much waste in the world, there are so many amazing companies collecting it and making into a product rather than it ending up as waste pollution. These pencil cases are some great examples:
Beekeeper Parade’s pencil cases made from end-of-roll, remnant, discarded or donated fabrics and clothing (AU)
Vent for Change recycled leather pen/pencil pouch (UK)
Zero-Waste Pencil Tin Set made from scrap metal (US)
More pencil cases from upcycled or recycled materials (worldwide)
Explore more sustainable school and office supplies for those in Australia here, for those in the UK here and for those in the US here.
Hopefully these more eco-friendly stationery choices help you reduce your resource use at your school, university or office when heading back at the beginning of the year and throughout the year. For complete waste-reducing newbies that need a complete zero waste back to office kit, this eco-office box has all the stationery and reusables to get you started reducing waste at work.
Share and show off these less waste alternatives with your school classmates, teachers, university study group, lecturers and professors, work colleagues and bosses to spread the reduced resource use and plastic-free stationery throughout the school system and workplaces worldwide.
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