The Eco-friendly Yearly Planners, Diaries, and Journals We’re Loving This Year

Kate Hall

A new year has arrived and that means only one thing… it’s time for a new planner for 2020.

The feel of a fresh cover, the sustainable binding, the smell of recycled paper. I’m sure it’s not just me.

Sustainable and eco-friendly planners made with thoughtfulness for people and the planet are a great way to start the year with intent and drive.

Whether you’re dreaming big or focusing on getting through each day, these eight planners will help you glide through the year and inspire greatness.

Organisers and relaxers, planners and go-getters, this eco-friendly planner guide is for you.

Image via Emma Kate Co

ecofriendly planner diary

eco-friendly diary

Frank Stationery

My personal weapon of organisation, Frank Stationery uses a buy-one-give-one model to provide school children with books across New Zealand. Frank offers a weekly and daily diary, both perfect planners for the mindful and reflective organiser. Each month you’ll be asked about your favourite moments, and how you felt the month went. The daily planner also includes daily space to reflect on quotes, productivity, and points of thankfulness. This planner goes above and beyond to make sure you’re not absentmindedly ticking off to-do lists but staying mindful and thankful to be alive.

Emma Kate Co.

Minimal, spacious, and purposeful; Emma Kate Co. planners are inspired by the adventurer who fills their planner with trips and travel. Choose from weekly, daily, undated, and dated planners, all wrapped up in glorious linen fabric covers. Emma Kate Co. organisers weigh less than 500 grams, so your diary can travel with you wherever you wander.

eco-friendly diary

Pace and Pattern

Ethically produced in the USA, the Pace and Pattern goal setting planner is said to be the queen of all planners. Get started with vision casting and personal reflections, then dive into habit trackers, project planning, monthly calendars, weekly calendars, and observations. Phew! You won’t miss an appointment with this clothbound beauty.

May Designs

‘Plan your best year yet’ with a sustainably made planner from May Designs. The canvas covers are resilient, waterproof, and designed to be indestructible. The binding is sewn on an old school sewing machine, and the pages are made from part post-consumer waste. Customise your planner details, and choose from a vast range of colouring popping covers to accompany your year.

Tria Press

Dream, scribble and plan on acid-free, recycled paper. Made by hand in their London studio, Tria Press cover their diaries with abstract photography, and fill the pages with simplistic grids, calendars, and space for ‘notes.’ The team at Tria Press have a mission: reduce, reuse, and recycle. Tria Press planners are undated for flexibility and come in small A5 sizes so you can pop them in your handbag or coat pocket.

eco-friendly yearly planners

Earth Greetings

Earth Greeting’s planner is the type of planner that will make you want to organise all day long. Plan your days and weeks on post-consumer recycled paper, printed with vegetable ink, alongside art from Australia artist, Claire Ishino. Earth Greetings is dedicated to offering an entirely eco-friendly planner. They bind covers with vegan glue and offset carbon emissions by planting trees in the Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor.

Sasha Kretova

Can’t find the perfect diary for you? Sasha will make you one. Sasha lets you pick the cover, size, and pages, and creates (by hand) your dream diary in her Finland based workroom. She’ll construct your diary from recycled paper, and include her beautiful illustrations to make your year exciting and fresh. Small or large, Sasha Kretova’s creations are the ultimate option for the picky planner.

Byron Bound

The Byron Bound ‘Freedom Yearly’ planner is for the organised minimalist. The recycled paper pages are filled only with the first letter of each day of the week, leaving room for creativity and much needed mental space. The hemp binding finishes the Australian made planner off, keeping in line with the 100% sustainable Australian materials and earthy aesthetics.

Whatever planner you choose, may your new year be organised, eco, and bright.

Happy New Year.

Kate Hall

I live and breathe sustainable living and ethical fashion. This alternative way of consuming and existing dominates my every waking moment- and sometimes more. Ethical fashion and living are no longer my hobbies, it has become my mission... to change the future of fast fashion and the way we consume. My husband and I strive to live a zero-waste lifestyle, live at thrift stores, and always look to 'up-cycle' rather than throw out. Eco-living is not a choice for me, it's in my blood, and I am trying with all my power for it to be the new 'norm'.