Review: Ecosystem Journal

Yay! Another notebook review! 

I'm actually still using this notebook as a catch all but I have realized that it's been so long I think this company is out of business....ALTHOUGH you can find some on Amazon at the moment but some are sold out. I thought it was worth it to still do a mini review for those of you who like to be more eco-friendly with their supplies.

First off, I won this notebook as a giveaway from Diane at the PocketBlonde blog and had been wanting to try this type of notebook since I first heard of it.

Ecosystem claims their notebooks are:

• Made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper
• 100% made in the USA
• 100% Acid Free
• 100% Chlorine Free
• 100% Soy Inks
• 100% Water-based dyes and adhesives

Seems good! I can't really say that I can tell there are differences in the paper quality but it did hold up to my fountain pen inks fairly well as long as it wasn't a super wet ink. I loved the spacing of the lines, perfect for the size I write but those with larger handwriting may find it cramped.

There were 3 types of printed pages: Lined, Grid (I think, their website is no longer up to compare), and Blank.

The notebook was shrink wrapped but I got excited and opened it before snapping a photo. This is the way the notebook is packaged with the small wrap around band over the notebook.

There is a rough cotton bookmark included but I think it's a bit thick and rough for those who may be sensitive to texture. Overall it was ok with me but I did not like running it through my fingers when moving it through the pages. Definitely prefer a smoother option like satin but cotton would be more eco-friendly.

The elastic outside is similar to the bookmark. Rough texture but thicker than the bookmark. Now I didn't really end up using this feature much. I do have a problem that within a few days of using the closure elastic it just popped out the back of the notebook! I tried to feed it back in the hole and used some Elmer's glue and it did work for awhile but then it came right back out! I had to use duct tape to keep it from popping out again but then I decided to not use the elastic as I ended up putting it in my traveler's notebook instead. I haven't had any issues with pages falling out with the adhesives which is good.

I suspect that it may have had to do with the water based adhesive and maybe it was the humidity that made it not stick but I am not certain. Just something to be aware of with this notebook.

There is a back pocket which I haven't really used other than to store the notebook band information and maybe a note or two.

There is this feature I like but it's no longer available. You can register your notebook online and find out the origins of the notebook, I think it's neat to know where it came from. Plus, if it gets lost, a person can look up the owner of the notebook with that bar code at the bottom. I never actually used this feature either but I liked the idea behind it.

Overall, I like the notebook and how the paper handles my fountain pen ink. The build was questionable with their water based adhesives but otherwise I was pleased using this notebook. I am a bit sad to see the company has gone out of business. Although the prices of the notebooks were a tad pricey for me, a medium sized notebook (approx 5x8 inches) cost $14.95, I was able to buy a few more notebooks before the company completely disappeared. There are still a few up if you're interested.

If you're looking to be more eco-friendly, this notebook is something you might want to look for while they have supplies. I haven't really seen any other notebooks like this in the market so it'd be good to pick up if this is the type of thing you're interested in!