Earth Day pick: Your PlanetBox lunch box just got even cooler

The wonderful PlanetBox eco-friendly stainless steel lunch boxes are a favorite for my kids -- and for me. Now, through an Earth Day partnership with kid-friendly folk musician Jack Johnson, they're making school environmental education better too, and I love that so much. CMP is an rstyle affiliate PlanetBox's bento-like boxes are pricey, so let me start there and explain why I've found they're totally worth the investment. They are free of lead, phthalates, BPAs, and any other new, bad chemicals we don't know about yet--and they're designed to last forever. Hopefully not "landfill forever" but forever as in, we've had ours for years and they still pop out of the dishwasher grime-free and good as new. A lot of bento systems and reusable lunch boxes kind of die after a year or two, unfortunately. They come in all different sizes to suit your needs and hooray, they are leak proof. For real. Another great thing is that my kids don't get bored with the same lunch box year after year, because you can decorate them with a huge range of themed magnets specifically sized for their lunch boxes. From spaceships to fairies, dinos to dogs, there's a set of magnets for everyone including--surfing!  

In honor of Earth Day, PlanetBox and Jack Johnson are offering this limited edition set of Aloha PlanetBox lunch box magnets designed by Hawaii-based artist Heather Brown with 100% of the proceeds of magnet sales will go to the Kokua Hawai'i Foundation which supports environmental education in schools so that the next generation won't even think twice about using reusable food containers instead of baggies. (Note: These are no longer available)

  I know: $59.95 isn't cheap for a complete set (see, I warned you), but for as long as they last, it's been worth it to me. If anything, you may need to pick up a new carry bag every couple of years. The one belonging to my messier eater, who shall remain nameless, can get a little grubby. But sure beats buying a new $40 lunch box every single year, times two kids.