I found myself wandering through Target last week on the hunt for a planner. Don’t ask why I was looking for one that starts in July, even though I’m not in school anymore. (Boring story, mainly caused by pickiness about page refills and poor planning on my part to get them in January like a normal person.)
Anyway, I was surprised to see that the store actually stocks planners and calendars that are eco-friendly and made from recycled materials. What I found was a desk calendar for work, and also a 5×8 weekly/monthly planner for my everyday life stuff by BlueSky.
You can check out their website for tons of other options, but besides what I got, it looks like the recycled choices are more limited. At least they offer some though.
I’m totally a design person (after all, I have to look at the same book every day for about a year), and the designs on these calendars aren’t that awesome, but I decided that I could look past the design because of them because of how they’re made.
They are made in China (bummer), but are printed with non-toxic, soy-based ink on recycled paper that contains 60 percent post-consumer material.
What was also great was that they don’t cost any more than the other cheapish planners by Franklin Covey that stocked the shelves.
Flipping through the pages, I did notice they were thinner than last year’s book and I wondered if pen ink would bleed through, but I decided it was worth the risk. Using a roller ball pen, I found that the ink does bleed through to the other side of the page, but it’s manageable.
I can only guess that there are other brands of eco-friendly calendars in the world that are a little tougher and maybe even a little prettier, but mine will do for now. I did find other brands online that look worthy of checking out and even better than what I got, many that are made of 100 percent recycled materials and are completely recyclable.
At least I know for next year. Anyway, here are some websites with what appear to be awesome options I look forward to trying myself:
FranklinCovey — Yeah, they have recycled options too!
I know this is just a dent in what are offered, so if you know of others, please help me add to the list. The more options, the better! Maybe by the time the new year rolls around, when most people are snatching up their planners, we can have a good list going.
A Better Way to Be 