Man, this category has been a doozy. I feel like every time I researched I hit another private equity wall or companies without clear DEI support. But! I hope with this comprehensive list it can help you solve some of your BTS needs across elementary, middle/high school, and college students. I also tried to include any teacher or school discounts as I found them, but I’ll be following this up with another post on resources for teachers and families in need this season. And if I missed a significant piece of the BTS puzzle, leave a comment and let me know!
Local: If you have any local shopping options that aren’t big box stores, amazing! A lot of grocery stores and hardware stores like Ace will have back to school supplies as well.
Direct: Depending on what supplies you need, you may be able to buy direct from the brand’s website.
Free/No Purchase: You can always check out your local Buy Nothing group. People sometimes have left over notebooks/etc after the school year ends, or potentially art supplies. If you don’t have or don’t want to use Facebook, check out their app.
Five Below: Publicly traded with institutional investors as the largest shareholders. Five Below the company and Five Below Foundation are committed to DEI. They did not spend any money on lobbying the last two years. Five Below prices a lot of their products at $5 or less, so this can be a great option for cheaper supplies. They even have a $1 school supplies page! You can shop both in-store and online.
What they have: Backpacks, Ticonderoga Pencils, Crayola crayons and markers, pens, binders, index cards, paint supplies. I think if a elementary student or tween/teenager needs it it’s likely to be there, but they also have some fun decor items for college students as well.
Mead/FiveStar/Trapper Keeper: These guys are the OG’s of back to school! Owned by ACCO Brands, which is publicly traded with institutional investors as the largest shareholders. ACCO Brands supports diversity and did not spend any money on lobbying the last two years.
What they have: Notebooks, binders, planners, calendars, trapper keepers, paper
Tombow: Japanese company for art, school, office and craft supplies that is privately owned and supports diversity. They have cool things like this adhesive dot tape.
What they have: Markers, pens, pencils, glue, arts & craft supplies
Muji: Japanese company publicly traded as Ryohin Keikaku on the Tokyo stock exchange. On their corporate website they have a dedicated diversity section. Muji sells no-frills, affordable products that are high quality. I think their BTS selection would be more suited to teens/college students.
What they have: Notebooks, pens, pencils, highlighters, tape, staples, desk supplies
Costco: Full details on Costco here.
What they have: You can get pens, pencils and backpacks, but they also have a lot of dorm essentials for college students.
Grove: Full details on Grove here.
What they have: They have a limited selection of school supplies but if you’re already using Grove might be worth checking out to get a few things.
These options don’t have clear support for DEI, but that’s somewhat common for smaller or foreign companies. Typically if this happens I try to search to see if there’s anything else they’re doing that’s bad, but I couldn’t find much else on these guys. Given that there aren’t a ton of great options in this category, if they have what you need try ‘em out!
United Art & Education: Dedicated school and art supplies business based out of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Their inventory skews a little more elementary school, and they have a ton of classroom and teaching supplies. If you’re a teacher this might be a great place to get what you need for your classroom.
Research: Privately owned – to be honest, I can’t find much about their ownership beyond the company started in 1960. I could not find anything on OpenSecrets for United Art & Education and they do not list their stance on diversity in general or DEI.
What they have: Their inventory definitely skews more towards teachers’ needs, but they have tons of art supplies as well as toys and games.
School discounts: https://www.unitednow.com/school-discounts
Mintra: Mintra is an Egyptian manufacturer of several types of home, garden and office products including office supplies, furniture, storage and organization, kitchen items, and more. They focus on high-quality, practical products at affordable prices. They have less BTS-type supplies and more office supplies, but their notebook selection is decent. If you’re going back to college or buying for someone who is, they also have a lot of dorm and desk items you’re might be looking for.
Research: Egyptian manufacturer, family-owned. I can’t find anything on their corporate site about their support for DEI or diversity, and they do not have a profile on OpenSecrets.
What they have: Notebooks, folders, backpacks, desk organizing items, and dorm items like trash bins, kitchen items, chairs/stools, etc.
Onyx and Green: Eco-friendly and organic school, stationary and office supplies. If you’re looking to stay green this back to school season I’d go with these guys to get the basics covered.
Research: The most I could find on their background was their sister site for baby products which mentions that Danny Fonfeder founded the company in Montreal. Their about me page on their dedicated site is pretty sparse (but also amusing). They do not have any information about DEI or diversity in general listed, and they do not have a profile on OpenSecrets.
What they have: Pencils, pens, notebooks, binders and folders, glue, scissors, rulers, backpacks, lunch bags, even a calculator and a bamboo mouse.
Ooly: Woman-founded and owned. Ooly makes markers, pens, and other fun art supplies including Magic Puffy Pens. I got a Magic Puffy Pens set last year and it’s super fun to play around with!
Research: No profile on OpenSecrets. They do not have a diversity policy listed on their website.
What they have: Markers, pens, glitter pins, scented pens, notebooks, all sorts of fun stuff!
Office Depot/Office Max: Owned by the ODP corporation, which is publicly traded with institutional investors as the largest shareholders. Office Depot did not spend any money on lobbying the last two years. Of the $60K donated to candidates, PACs, or groups by their employees or management, 71% went to Democrats. I cannot find anything on their support for DEI.
Specific offers for teachers: https://www.officedepot.com/l/rewards/teachers
My thoughts: While I’m not happy they don’t have a clear DEI policy listed, I think if you’re going to end up shopping at one of the big stores this would be the best one to go to.
The Oriental Trading Company: Owned by Berkshire Hathaway, which is publicly traded and largest shareholders are institutional investors. Berkshire Hathaway removed “diversity and inclusion” from their annual report this year despite including it as part of their previous annual report. Oriental Trading Company does not have any clear support for DEI on their website.
On the name: I was kind of confused why they would have this name because it seems racist, but the company was founded in 1932 by a Japanese American (Harry Watanabe) based on where he was sourcing his products from. So at least it has legitimate ties to an Asian-American person.
Michael’s: Owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management. They don’t call out DEI specifically but they do have a Diversity page on their website and have employee resource groups across a variety of diversities. They did not spend money on lobbying the last two years.
Staples: Owned by private equity firm Sycamore partners. They did not spend any money on lobbying the last two years. Of the $100K in political contributions from employees or management, $10K went to Ron DeSantis’s PAC (Great American Comeback 🙄) and $19.8K went to him directly.
Discount School Supply: Owned by Excelligence Learning Corporation, which in turn is owned by Brentwood Associates, a private equity firm. I could not find a profile for Discount School Supply or Excelligence Learning Corporation on OpenSecrets, nor any mention of support for DEI or diversity in general across both their corporate sites.
School Speciality: In 2020 they were restructured with private equity investment from The TCW Group, Cerberus, and Lantern Capital Partners. They did not spend any money on lobbying the last two years and individual contributions from management or employees were only $9.6K. I cannot find anything on their support for DEI.
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