Here’s Your Chance to Have Something In Common With Harry Potter

Even the most eco-friendly parent can have a hard time convincing their kid to pick up a notebook made of recycled paper. Case in point: One stroll down the aisle with your little one and your shopping cart is filled with Elsa-themed everything faster than you can say “let it go.”

With Americans consuming about 31.5 million tons of paper each year, a whopping 535 million trees are destroyed in the process. We don’t have to be good at math to understand that we need to make a change this year. The real issue here: how do we make it cool for kids to go back to school in eco-style?

Fortunately, there are brands out there that make sustainability as cool as Frozen. For nearly two decades, New Leaf Paper has paved the way as the most premium, sustainable paper on the market. No big deal, but it’s also the paper on which 950,000 copies of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” were printed back in 2003.

Determined to teach consumers not only how “to be less bad” but how “to be more good,” New Leaf’s positive messaging, coupled with their unique, colorful designs, have made them a classroom favorite.

The intricately drawn covers—some come with “hidden messages”—scream fun, but the groves of trees, pounds of greenhouse gasses, millions of BTUs of energy, and pounds of waste that were saved to bring them to your backpack is serious conservation.

Of course, sustainability in the classroom comes down to more than just fun and games. As Mendelsohn explains, choosing smart back-to-school supplies is an easy way for parents to introduce an important environmental lesson here: “It’s simple, it’s powerful, and it’s tangible. They’re feeling the paper with their own hands, learning these facts, and integrating the benefits into their own lives.”

In addition to New Leaf Paper, Thrive Market offers a vast selection of wholesale, eco-conscious backpacks and lunchboxes, water bottles, and other supplies that your kids will love using and you can feel good about purchasing.

Photo credit: Paul Delmont