With smartphones being a multi-purpose handheld device, it is making every other gadget we used to need seem obsolete, like the alarm clock and the calculator. However no matter how practical these digital devices are, many of us still prefer to use an actual physical planner than use the digital versions to manage our deadlines, appointments, bills and social calendar and basically keep our busy lives in order.

Plus research shows that writing things down helps us to retain information a whole lot better so that’s a great benefit of keeping a physical organizer. Aside from that, having to read through a beaming screen is shown to have negative health impacts.

But what about the trees?

Going paperless is still considered the ideal option, but it’s not often the pragmatic choice for people running a business or office, or prefer old fashion note-taking to typing on laptops. Besides, paper can be a sustainable product when the manufacturer uses suppliers actively involved in sustainable certification schemes like Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and are involved in carbon neutral programs.

Still, we want to do it right so if you are one of those people who just can not function without these paper planners, here is a list of eco-friendly organizers and diaries for 2020 to choose from.

1. 2020 Weekly Ponderlily Planner

Ponderlily creates organizers, planners and paper goods that empower all women to find happiness and purpose in all their tasks and in every decision they make.

All their products are made from eco-friendly materials (recycled paper, vegetable based inks, ‘vegan’ leather) and printed in Europe. They are designed beautifully to inspire your day every day (versus other planners that consist of just a few drab lines that don’t stimulate creativity but suppresses it!)

They also produce other great eco-friendly office supplies such as weekly notepads, ‘note to self’ pads, ‘today’ notepads, travel journals and more.

Learn more or to buy: ponderlily.com.

2. Claire T Illustration 2020 A6 Weekly Diary 

This handmade Claire T Illustration 2020 A6 weekly diary is handmade and handbound in the UK and features patterned bookcloth, recycled paper and hand-stitched open bound spine using linen thread. It comes in beautiful, reusable packaging (presented in a gift box). Measures 14.8cm x 10.5cm and colour comes in dark blue and white, or light grey and blue. Claire T Illustration have a wide selection of notebooks, prints and other eco-friendly organizer designs too, view them all here.

Learn more or to buy: etsy.com.

3. Taking the Leap Diary 2020

All Paperchase products are made from recycled or FSC materials which means that their materials are sourced from forests that are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as ethically-produced and well-managed. They also make sure that their packaging is recyclable and are currently looking into packaging materials that are compostable too.

The Taking the Leap Diary 2020 allows you to start another year by encouraging you to be bold, have fun setting goals and gives you space where you can even make action plans, track your progress, write down weekly thoughts, monthly tasks to complete and basically, to help you achieve your goals this coming year.

To browse the entire eco-friendly range of planners, visit paperchase.com.

4. Daily Planner by Lavendaire

Lavendaire is committed to sustainability, documenting this on a separate page on their website. They use FSC-certified recycled paper, food grade inks and some of their workbooks and daily planners are also vegan-friendly (using animal-free leather).

They are also committed to minimizing plastic and using recyclable materials in its packaging to reduce their environmental footprint as much as possible. Most of their products are made of recyclable materials and are themselves recyclable.

The Daily Planner by Lavendaire is a 184-page undated, daily planner that encourages the user to become an artist of life. Every page is designed to guide the user to set intentions for the day, outline their tasks, focus on self-care habits and celebrate the day with gratitude as it features inspirational quotes on each page. It’s also beautiful too!

Learn more or to buy: shop.lavendaire.com.

5. Penny Paperoni 2020 Minimal Eco-Friendly Diary

Designed and printed in Australia, this minimali Penny Paperoni handmade 2020 black wire bound diary is made using 100% recycled cover and recycled paper for internal pages. It features week-to-week planner, inspiring quotes, habit trackers and monthly meal planners, weekly to-do lists and shopping lists, with plenty of space to scribble and jot down ideas, notes and musings.

Learn more or to buy: etsy.com.

6. Earth Greetings 2020 Sustainable Diary

Made in Australia, this high-quality sunshine-coloured sustainable diary is made of 100% post-consumer recycled paper and eco-friendly vegetable inks. Designed in partnership with Australian artist Claire Ishino, it features her unique artwork, a week-to-a-view diary, a goal setting page prior to each month, a page-to-view calendar for each month, contacts and birthday pages and blank pages for sketching and note-taking.

Earth Greetings also offsets their carbon emissions (yay for printing carbon neutral!) by contributing to Australian reforestation projects and the business will also donate 10% of the profit of the sale of these diaries to environmental organizations. The diary also comes in a grey colour if you’re less of a peacock and want to be more like a wallflower.

Learn more or to buy: biome.com.au.

7. O-Check Eco-Friendly 2020 A6 Dated Daily Diary Planner

The O-Check Eco-Friendly planner is made of eco-friendly recycled leather and recycled 100gsm paper. It lays flat and comes with a ribbon bookmark that allows you to easily flip to the page you last wrote on. This planner is designed with lots of space to allow you to journal or plan comfortably.

This planner features alternating monthly and daily plan pages and it’s monthly spreads are tabbed for quick page turning. It also has a 13 month calendar which means you can start planning as of December this year!

Learn more or to buy: Fallindesign.com.

8. House of Doolittle Weekly and Monthly Calender Planners

House of Doolittle planners are printed on 100% post-consumer recycled FSC certified paper with soy inks and are made in the USA. However, their green commitment goes beyond the manufacturing of recycled products. Aside from recycling all papers, plastics, boxes, metals and electronics used, they also contribute 5% of their profits to different organizations whose mission is to help the environment.

It is a simply designed, affordable planner with wild flower designs printed on the cover and inside the pages. It consists of appointment slots for each day, a space for future planning on monthly and weekly spread, double-sided storage pocket, an additional page with important holiday dates for three years in list form and a three year calendar reference page for long-range planning.

Purchase here.

The most important part about purchasing an eco-friendly organizer and planner is that whichever one you choose, that you use it. Now go forth and have a productive and meaningful 2020!

Disclosure: This curated list does not fully take into account all the ethical considerations that are unique to each individual. Before making a purchase, we encourage you to do your own research paying particular attention to the supply chain and your own particular set of ethics. This list also includes affiliate links. Click here to read more about our policies.

Title image credit Lavendaire.