20 Everyday Products Made Of Recycled Materials (2023): Chargers, Watches, Toys

Posted On April 22, 2023

If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIRED

Featured in this article

An E-ReaderAmazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021, 11th Generation)

Read more

A Better Water BottleKlean Kanteen Recycled Steel Bottles

Read more

For Listening to VinylVictrola Re-Spin Bluetooth Suitcase Record Player

Read moreHumans haven’t been kind to the planet. Climate change is out of control, and microplastics are poisoning our oceans. But even when we try to reduce our footprint, we still need to wear shoes and clothes and occasionally drive vehicles. So it’s important that we all make eco-friendly choices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow the spread of plastic waste. Luckily, some companies have figured out how to use that waste to make new products.

Here, we’ve highlighted some of our favorite companies and products that are making these decisions a little easier. You can buy these items—from portable chargers to yoga mats—knowing that you’re doing your part. We also have guides on the best recycled bags, best recycled clothing, and best reusable products.

Updated April 2023: We’ve added Victrola’s Re-Spin record player and the Kindle Paperwhite.

Special offer for Gear readers: Get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you’d like). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.

Photograph: Nimble

A Portable ChargerNimble Champ

We may love being able to charge our phones on the go, but batteries aren’t the best for the environment. Those little guys are full of plastic, chemicals, lithium, cobalt, and other rare metals. But since everyone needs one, Nimble houses its batteries in 72 percent post-consumer plastic. Its packaging is plastic-free too. That’s why the Champ is our favorite portable charger.

It’s not just environmentally smart, though. It’s one of the lightest batteries you’ll find, and it can charge two devices at once with its USB-C and USB-A ports. A fully charged pack can juice up your phone for a week before it needs to be plugged in itself.

Photograph: Amazon

An E-ReaderAmazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021, 11th Generation)

Amazon Kindles are our favorite e-readers, and the Paperwhite is the best of the brand’s lineup. Sixty percent of the plastic used in the device is recycled, as is 70 percent of the magnesium—magnesium replaces aluminum, making the device lighter. When you’re done with it, you can trade it in or send it back to the company to be recycled.

The Paperwhite comes in three editions. The base model has adjustable warm lighting and is available with 8 or 16 gigabytes of storage; the Signature Edition gets 32 gigs of storage and is the only one that can auto-adjust its brightness to your surroundings. Finally, the Kids Edition comes with a case, a two-year warranty, and a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+.

★ More Kindles: The standard Kindle ($100) and Kindle Scribe ($340) (8/10, WIRED Recommends) also use recycled materials in their construction, as do most of the Amazon brand cases.

Photograph: Klean Kanteen

A Better Water BottleKlean Kanteen Recycled Steel Bottles

Photograph: Victrola

For Listening to VinylVictrola Re-Spin Bluetooth Suitcase Record Player

Victrola turntables are great for casual vinyl listeners—it’s probably not for the audiophiles or those who own rare records, but I personally love my little suitcase player. Reviews editor Julian Chokkattu loves the Re-Spin, which is made with 25 percent recycled plastic.

If you’ve run out of record sides to listen to, you can connect your phone to it via Bluetooth and play an endless stream of music.