sk*p’s back to school shopping guide
Sk*p Culture
These hot hazy days will soon be over as we Fall forward and head back to school. While that means you may need to trade in your beach bag for a backpack, and swap out your swim wear for some cozy sweats —Don’t worry! sk*p has you covered with our favorite planet-friendly goods and gear you will want to buy.
Backpacks For Good
No matter your grade level, a large and comfy backpack that can hold ALL those bulky supplies is essential. We found two companies making backpacks with purpose.
Founded in 2014, Cotopaxi is a certified B-Corp focusing on making sustainable outerwear, apparel, and making a change. Cotopaxi’s one-of-a-kind backpack is not only stylish, but made from 100% repurposed fabric. Cotopaxi takes producer responsibility up a notch by requiring that all their factories adhere to a rigorous code of conduct, promoting fair labor practices. They also keep things circular with their Guaranteed for Good™ initiative—a promise to repair, replace, return and reward you for being a conscious consumer.
This female-founded company is fully committed to being an eco-friendly brand. Dagne Dover bags are made of Repreve®—a durable material made from recycled plastic bottles, requiring less water and energy consumption, and fewer greenhouse gas emissions. We love Dagne Dover’s Dakota backpack but even crazier about their Almost Vintage initiative. It allows you to buy and sell used Dagne Dover goods, encouraging circularity and less waste in the fashion industry.
Gear Up
Is your shopping list a mile long? Sk*p to the rescue! Now that you have a bag, pack it up with things like immunity boosters and plantable pencils (see below). Then stock your dorm room with bamboo toilet paper (trust us, it’s amazing), an air purifying plant and all kinds of decorating goodies from Dormify, then recycle the list!
Going away to college is great for meeting new friends but being in a new environment around new people can also mean exposure to new germs! The Republic of Tea’s Elderberry Punch single sips will give your immunity a boost and keep things in check while on the go. The Republic of Tea belongs to the first international member of the Ethical Tea Partnership and is committed to improving tea sustainability through partnerships with a variety of impactful nonprofit organizations.
College is all fun and games until it’s time to clean up. Cloud Paper’s got you covered with their 100% bamboo cleaning supplies including a new Swedish Dishcloth, which is a reusable, plant-based kitchen towel-making it easy to have an eco-friendly clean living space. With the average person flushing the equivalent of one tree down the toilet every year, Cloud Paper provides an easy solution to making a change. Shop now and use the code SKP15 for 15% off Cloud Paper products!
A pencil that you can plant? Yup! you read that right. This cool concept was created by a few MIT students who took it from a Kickstarter project to a successful company a.k.a. Sprout World which has already sold over 40 million pencils and counting. Sprout’s pencils can be planted after your done with them, becoming herbs, flowers, vegetables, and even spruce trees. Made of FSC-certified wood, graphite, clay, and a cellulose capsule with non-GMO seeds, Sprout pencils are sustainable and even have second (or third) life.
With a mission to inspire and connect through greener spaces, Lively Root invites everyone to enjoy the aesthetic of plants, and the health and environmental benefits they offer. Grown in their very own nursery in San Diego, Lively Root’s assortment of plants come in eco-friendly pots made of recycled materials and sustainably packaged in a box made from recycled paper products. We love a company that is planting seeds for good.
You may not be ready to trade in your bathing suit for a cozy sweatshirt, but this edgy sustainable brand keeps it real. With apparel made in small quantities from 100% organic cotton and colored using 100% nontoxic dyes, you know you are supporting the planet while showing off your style. Like sk*p, they have partnered with SeaTrees to help restore and protect our ocean’s health. Seek Discomfort recently became a climate positive company, so for every ton of carbon they offset, 4 mangrove trees are planted and 1 sq ft of kelp is restored.
When you purchase an iced drink, it usually comes with a plastic straw which according to the brand equals five hundred million plastic straws being thrown out every day in the U.S.—yikes! But you can make a difference by purchasing Go Sili’s reusable silicone straw, which is made from nontoxic European-grade, platinum silicone. It’s also bendable, dependable and easy to clean. And check out their other green-friendly initiatives.
With colder weather comes chapped lips, so we are crazy for Poppy and Pout’s simple, natural, and cruelty-free lip care for all. Poppy and Pout’s lip balms use 100% natural ingredients (think beeswax ethically sourced from the US, organic coconut oil from the Philippines, sunflower oil from the U.S., a hint of essential oils/natural flavor oils, and a drop of Vitamin E) for absolute lip hydrating goodness in a recyclable cardboard tube.
When it comes to decorating your college dorm room, it’s hard to know where to start. Meet Dormify—a one-stop shop for all your college needs. With their endless supply of trendy and versatile products made for everyone, you may get stuck scrolling for hours but they have stylists on hand to help. We are super excited for their new line of sustainable goods launching later this month. In the meantime check out some of their great partnerships under Dormify Doing Good that give back.
