As a long-time kawaii stationery hoarder and designer, I’ve been making more of an effort to think about the choices I make and try to support businesses that care about the Earth. I’m sharing a few eco-friendly stationery brands and shops from around the world to get you started. No company is perfect but they are all trying to make a positive difference, whether that’s using sustainable/recycled materials and ethical processes, plastic-free packaging & shipping, giving back to the community, protecting local wildlife, or all of the above! Buying local is also important so use our guide to The Best Kawaii Shops Worldwide for more stockists near you.
Blue Q recycled pouches / Midori reusable stickers
JetPens (US) is probably the online stationery store with the biggest selection of products including many Japanese brands and kawaii designs. Their guide to The Best Eco-Friendly Notebooks and Stationery is a great starting point to see which brands you already use or are worth checking out. The list includes sustainably-sourced and recycled paper products, and pens and bags made from recycled materials. They also stock other eco-friendly options like refillable journals and pens, and reusable stickers. Check local stockists for the same brands.
Every washi tape fan knows the mt brand and they’ve recently added an eco range called mt upcycle. These washi tapes are made from 70% recycled coffee filters and come in packs of 2 with plastic-free packaging. While currently only available in solid natural colours, they’re still nice and bright, but hopefully they’ll be able to add some patterns in future if the range is popular. Cute Things From Japan (JP) have them all in stock but they should be widely available. Most washi tape – and other paper tapes- can also be recycled.
STABILO is a German company that creates popular pens and pencils, and also has some very impressive sustainability initiatives. These include using recycled plastic, certified wood, water-based ink and climate-neutralised local manufacturing. Their pointball pens come in plenty of colours and are refillable too. You can find STABILO at stationery stores worldwide and they also have loads of helpful creative guides, tutorials and free downloads on their website.
Earth Greetings are an Australian stationery store and it would be hard to find a more eco-friendly option if you’re down under. All their products are locally made, using recycled, organic and compostable materials, and every order goes towards supporting local wildlife. They also have a First Nations Designed collection created by Aboriginal artists. Many of their patterns and designs are used across multiple products so you can have a matching journal, notepad, pen, washi tape and more.
Papier (UK) are able to offer a massive range of stationery as it’s made to order, meaning there’s no waste creating and storing extra stock. They also use sustainably sourced paper, upcycled leather and plastic-free packaging for all their products. As well as creating a wide choice of fun and artistic designs across their collections, there’s multiple personalisation options so you can add a name or photo, choose your preferred binding or paper style (lined, dotted etc.) and even build your own perfect journal.
Notebooks by Paper Cat Club (UK) / Printable Journaling Set by Ines The Unicorn
Artists and makers may not be able to match all the eco-credentials of bigger companies but they use less resources overall, plus you get to know the people you’re supporting, who may also intersect with other values that are important to you. We’ll definitely make more of an effort to highlight eco-friendly artists & makers in future as there’s no easy to way to search for them but start by checking your favourites or our picks. Get into the habit of reading product descriptions and look for terms like eco-friendly, recycled, sustainably sourced, water-based inks, FSC certified paper and plastic-free packaging. Printable stationery is also a more eco-friendly way to add to your stash as there’s no shipping materials or air miles and you can print only as much as you need.
- Our Favourite Kawaii Artists, Designers & Makers
- Art & Handmade posts
- Printables posts
- Stationery & Journaling posts
- You can also search on Etsy
How you can help create change
If a brand or artist you love doesn’t share any eco information, or you’ve ordered before and would like to see changes, it’s always worth sending a (polite! kind!) message. It only took a couple of plastic-free packaging requests from my own shop’s customers before I decided to make the switch and I now also prioritise using responsibly sourced materials and local suppliers/manufacturers. I have a Recycling & Environment page about my changes and if you’re an artist or maker and would like advice on this, you’re welcome to email me. Byte Size Treasure also have an in-depth guide to Small Business Eco-Friendly Packaging.
Do you have an eco-friendly stationery brand or shop to recommend? Add it in the comments. Let us know if there’s other products or themes you’d like us to cover in this Ethical Kawaii series.
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