The Earth Day Guide to Carrying Less and Wasting Nothing

Earth Day is April 22. And every year, it's the same playbook: brands slap a leaf emoji on their marketing, push a "sustainable collection," and call it a day. We're going to do something different and talk honestly about what sustainability actually means… and why the greenest thing you can do might just be to buy less stuff.

That includes us saying it: you probably don't need a new wallet. But if you do, here's why it matters how you choose it.

What is Earth Day, actually?

Earth Day started in 1970 when 20 million Americans took to the streets to protest environmental damage caused by industrialization. It's now observed in 193 countries and is considered the largest civic event on Earth. 

The goal hasn't changed: push for policies, habits, and systems that protect the planet for the people who come after us.

For most of us, that doesn't mean chaining ourselves to a tree. It means being more deliberate. About energy, waste, and yes, what we buy and how long we keep it.

Where Ekster fits in: B Corp, explained

Ekster is a certified B Corporation. If that doesn't mean much to you yet, here's the short version.

B Corp certification is awarded by a nonprofit called B Lab. To earn it, a company has to meet verified standards across five areas: workers, community, environment, customers, and governance. 

You can't just claim it. You get assessed, scored, and held accountable. Recertification happens every three years. Less than 1% of businesses globally hold this certification. It's the business equivalent of putting your money where your mouth is.

For Ekster, it means sustainability isn't a yearly once-off campaign. It's a condition of how the company operates every day.

The problem nobody wants to talk about: overconsumption

Here's the uncomfortable truth. Even "sustainable" products have an environmental cost. Manufacturing anything (even something made from recycled materials) uses energy, water, and labor. The most sustainable product is often the one you don't buy at all.

The real villain in everyday carry isn't the leather. It's the cycle of cheap products that break, get replaced, break again, and end up in a landfill. A wallet that lasts 10 years has a fraction of the environmental footprint of five $20 wallets over the same period. The math is simple.

This is what the anti-overconsumption mindset is about. Not buying nothing, but buying intentionally, buying well, and keeping things longer.

The hidden cost of cheap everyday carry

Think about what's actually in your pockets right now. Most people replace a cheap wallet every 1-2 years. The stitching goes, the card slots stretch, the lining peels. You throw it out, you buy another.

What you're not thinking about: the water used to tan that leather (conventional tanning uses chromium and releases toxic wastewater), the plastic components that can't be recycled, the carbon footprint of shipping it from a factory with no environmental standards, and the landfill it ends up in.

Cheap isn't neutral. It just hides its costs.

Do a quick carry audit

Before you buy anything new, from us or anyone else, try this.

Pull everything out of your wallet and your bag. Lay it out. Ask yourself:

• What do I actually use daily?
• What's in here out of habit?
• Is anything broken, worn out, or due for a proper replacement?

Most people are carrying more than they need and replacing things more often than they should. A slimmer carry isn't just more comfortable; it's more sustainable. Fewer items, better quality, kept longer.

What Ekster did in the last year

We believe durability is sustainability. Here's how that showed up in our product launches last year.

Vegan Leather Wallets made from recycled car windshields

Before it was a wallet, it was a windshield. That's not a tagline; that's literally what's going on here. Car windshields have an inner plastic layer called PVB (polyvinyl butyral) that keeps the glass from shattering on impact. When a car gets scrapped, that PVB layer almost always ends up in a landfill, where it takes over 500 years to decompose. 

Ekster takes that material and turns it into a scratch-resistant, water-resistant leather alternative that looks and feels like the real thing.

The scale of the opportunity: roughly 14 million cars are scrapped in the US every year. One windshield provides enough recyclable material for around 400 wallets. That's a lot of landfill diverted.

Wallet Pro AppleSkin

AppleSkin is a leather alternative made from apple waste, specifically the cores and peels left over from juice production. It's the kind of material that makes you feel good twice: once for what it is, once for what it replaces. 

This was a big move for Ekster in expanding beyond traditional leather without compromising on feel or longevity. To go a step further, we partnered with Regreener at launch and planted a tree for every Wallet Pro AppleSkin sold. That added up to 640 trees. Not a bad side effect of buying a wallet.

We're continuing to grow the vegan leather family, so this is just the start.

Wallet Pro in Vachetta leather

For our customers who prefer traditional leather, Vachetta is one of the cleaner options available. 

It's untreated, vegetable-tanned, and ages beautifully, which means people actually want to keep it longer. All our leather is sourced from LWG-certified tanneries (Leather Working Group), which audit for environmental compliance, water management, and chemical use.

Cardholder Pro for MagSafe in 100% recycled aluminum

No plastic. No virgin aluminum. The Cardholder Pro and Cardholder Pro for MagSafe are built entirely from recycled 6061 aluminum, which requires about 95% less energy to produce than new aluminum. 

It also features a removable card mechanism, designed specifically to extend the product's lifespan. If one part wears out, you clean or replace the part, not the whole thing. This kind of modularity is a deliberate sustainability choice, and it's one that the design world noticed: the Cardholder Pro for MagSafe won the 2026 iF Design Award.

TravelPack Vacuum Bags

The Vacuum Bags from the TravelPack range are made from recycled materials and built with heavy-duty, anti-rip nylon. 

They're designed to be reused hundreds of times, not treated as disposable. When we say they're designed to outlast alternatives, that's not marketing; it's the whole point.

The manufacturer piece most brands skip

Ekster only works with environmentally conscious manufacturing partners. That's a choice that has to be made before a single product is designed. We source leather from LWG-certified tanneries, which means the environmental practices at the source (not just the end product) are held to a standard.

This matters because most of a product's environmental impact happens before it reaches you. The raw materials, the factory, the water, the chemicals. Sustainable design starts there.

The bottom line

Sustainability isn't about buying the right things. It's mostly about buying fewer things and choosing well when you do.

A well-made wallet you carry for 10 years. A bag designed to last. Materials that don't cut corners on environmental standards. That's the version of sustainable consumption that actually moves the needle.

Earth Day is a good reminder. But the choices that matter are the ones you make the other 364 days a year.

 

FAQs

What is Earth Day and why does it matter?
Earth Day is an annual global event on April 22, focused on environmental protection. Founded in 1970, it now takes place in 193 countries and is considered the world's largest civic event. It's a reminder to individuals and businesses alike to examine their impact and make more deliberate choices.

What does it mean for Ekster to be a B Corporation?
B Corp certification, awarded by B Lab, means a company has met verified standards across environment, workers, community, customers, and governance. Ekster is certified, which means sustainability practices are assessed and audited regularly — not just stated in marketing.

What is Ekster's vegan leather made from?
Ekster makes two types of vegan leather. One is AppleSkin, made from apple waste byproduct. The other is made from PVB — the inner plastic layer of car windshields that would otherwise sit in landfill for over 500 years. One windshield provides enough material for around 400 wallets. Both are scratch-resistant, water-resistant, and completely animal-free.

What is AppleSkin and is it actually sustainable?
AppleSkin is a leather alternative made from the waste byproduct of apple juice production — cores and peels that would otherwise go to landfill. It requires fewer resources to produce than conventional leather and avoids the environmental issues associated with animal farming and chromium tanning.

What are LWG-certified tanneries?
LWG stands for Leather Working Group. Tanneries with LWG certification are audited on environmental performance — including water use, wastewater treatment, energy efficiency, and chemical management. Ekster sources leather exclusively from LWG-certified tanneries.

Why does recycled aluminum matter in wallets?
Producing aluminum from recycled materials uses approximately 95% less energy than producing it from raw ore. Using recycled aluminum significantly reduces the carbon footprint of manufacturing, making it a meaningful material choice for products like Ekster's Cardholder Pro for MagSafe.

What is the most sustainable thing I can do with my everyday carry?
Buy less and keep things longer. Choose products made from responsible materials that are designed to last. Repair where possible. A single high-quality wallet used for 10 years has a much lower environmental footprint than multiple cheap ones replaced every couple of years.