How Alysia Reiner handles the Back to School season

Alysia Reiner doesn’t recall when she first became attuned to sustainability. "People ask me that all the time, and I don't remember a time when I wasn't,” she says. “I can recall being a little kid, flushing the toilet and thinking, ‘This is such a waste of water, can’t we do this better?”

Reiner has spent years gracing stage and screen and winning awards in titles like Orange is the New Black, Ms Marvel, Better Things, Shining Vale, Equity, How to Get Away with Murder, and Sideways amongst others. But besides acting, caretaking the earth might be an equal passion of hers. The actress is currently based in Fire Island, a small community off the coast of Long Island, an area with sustainability in its bones. It’s semi off-the-grid living, car-free, and beautifully communal (Reiner is a volunteer firefighter and ambulance driver when she is not on set!).  

And living with her 16-year-old daughter Livia and husband David, when the Back to School shopping season rolls around, it’s an opportunity for them to practice ethical living.

“As an environmentalist, every year I like to start by asking, ‘What do we already have?” she says. “Instead of throwing everything out and starting fresh, we look at what can be reused. It’s a delicate balance; I never want my child to feel left out or deprived of something 'cool' or new. But I also want to teach her that our relationship with the Earth is precious, and that every new purchase should be made with care.”

For her family, this attitude bleeds into everything. There’s the practical things they do around the house, of course. That includes composting, buying seasonal produce, making their own seltzer, eating mostly vegetarian. But Reiner also chooses to pick up essentials on Back Market where needed, when buying refurbished tech for students for her home. “Of course, we buy recycled paper for school for example, but people often don’t realize you can also buy refurbished tech,” she says. “You can apply that approach to tech just like you do with fashion by buying vintage or secondhand – taking that same sustainable approach across everything."

Reiner’s a real friend of the Back Market brand. You might have spotted her at our New York City popup event with Leon’s Bagels last month spreading the good word about Trade-in. But her love for Back Market goes further than bagging some nice student tech deals. “What I love about Back Market is how it challenges planned obsolescence,” she says, referencing our work with the Right to Repair movement currently growing across the states. “I loved realizing it wasn’t just my imagination that my phone or computer seemed to suddenly stop working after a certain point. It’s part of the solution; recycling, reusing, and educating people about these issues. That kind of systemic change is powerful.”

She’s spent years doing her own part, too. Reiner is currently working with several organizations focused on climate and sustainability; she previously co-founded the brand LIVARI, a zero-waste, women-led clothing label designed to bring activism and fashion together. This comes alongside work on initiatives like the Project Dandelion, a female-led project aimed at uniting sustainability and climate nonprofits under one umbrella, and the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, which seeks to get organizations and governments to commit to phasing out fossil fuels. 

As an actor, she’s also using her platform to push for industry change through her union SAG-AFTRA, along with other actors like Rosario Dawson and Mark Ruffalo. “We are working to educate fellow union members and push for divestment,” she says. “Right now, over $100 million of our pension and health funds are invested in fossil fuels; it’s about doing better for the planet, making smarter financial decisions, and hopefully inspiring other organizations to follow suit."

But apart from the bigger practices, Reiner wants to remind other sustainability-savvy shoppers and parents that the impactful stuff starts at home. Amongst the bustle and heavy marketing of the Back to School shopping season, she suggests the gentle way of getting her daughter into eco-friendly school supplies where needed.

“That doesn’t mean we never buy new things, it just means we do it consciously,” she says. “We ask, ‘Do we really need this? Is it something essential for school?’ That kind of intentionality is key.”

Alysia’s sustainability recommendations:

Make sustainable choices a game for the family

"I'm always a fan of starting small, making a pact in the family that everyone will carry their own water bottle, silverware, straw, coffee mug, or reusable cup. You can gamify it with kids: every time they remember to bring it, take it home, and clean it, they get a reward, like a sticker chart. Make it a joyful thing, not a shame-based one.”

Notice the little things, like cleaning products

“Look at how you clean your home; make sure your products are sustainable. A friend of mine started a company called Blueland, a great sustainable cleaning brand. Instead of buying a new jug of cleaner each time, you reuse the same container and add little tablets. That way, you're not shipping water or buying new plastic every time.”

Go veggie where you can

“Look at your food systems. Can you go vegetarian one night a week if you currently eat meat every night? As a parent, I’ve found I have to love the food for my child to love it – it’s hard to say ‘eat your carrots’ while I’m eating McDonald’s. So falling in love with vegetables yourself really helps your child do the same.”

Get behind the scenes of the supply chain

“Everything we use is made by someone. One of my favorite things is meeting the people who grow or make your food and clothes. My husband and I have a garden, and I love eating food or herbs we grew ourselves. That awareness becomes like a pebble in a pond; it ripples through your life and deepens your understanding of sustainability."