Tips for Going Back to School Green
For many kids, one of the few highlights of heading back to school is the barrage of new stuff they get to coerce their parents into buying. Unfortunately for the planet, that can mean mounds of waste in the form of packaging and resources needed to make all those shiny new supplies. Following are our favorite tips for sending your kids back to school with new supplies, clothes, etc. with less environmental impact. Don't be overwhelmed, just try a couple ideas to get started.
1. Take Advantage of Local Stores with Green Supplies
Our local stationer's store, Contra Costa Stationers has a newly expanded selection of eco-friendly products. They sell 100% recycled lined paper for back to school and 100% recycled printed paper. They’ve also got eco-pens, rulers, notebooks, binders plus a lot more.
The Elephant Pharmacy in Walnut Creek (next to Trader Joes) has on hand recycled paper, hemp paper, blue jeans paper and coffee and or banana leaf. They have sketch books and stationery mostly. Their section of eco-friendly paper products keeps expanding.
For more options check out this list of suppliers at Green Planet.
Buy products with the highest percentage of post-consumer recycled content possible, that is processed chlorine free (PCF), such as New Leaf Paper for printers, and Mead Recycled Notebooks for use in school. Next, use these products to their maximum efficiency by printing on both sides of the paper, using paper already printed on one side for drafts (or better yet editing all drafts in the computer itself), and filling notebooks from cover to cover before purchasing a new one.
At www.ecopapers.com you can find all sorts of back to school products made of coffee and banana including lined paper, printer paper, notebooks and agendas. These are products from Costa Rica.
3. Use Green Binders
Get your three-ring binders, or Rebinders, from the Sustainable Group. Made from sturdy corrugated cardboard with 35 to 38 percent post-consumer recycled material, Rebinders are completely recyclable.
The days of package upon package of disposable pen and pencil are gone, replaced by biodegradable pencils, refillable pens, and recycled versions of both. Try to steer away from disposable choices since they will end up in the trash. Once you have greener options in hand, encourage your youngsters to hang on to each pencil 'til it wears down to the nub, and to each pen as long as possible. The Green Office and Green Earth Office Supply have just about everything you could want.
Some notable new products:
Smencil – naturally scented green pencils.
Pilot’s BeGreen pens – made from 65 percent recycled materials
ForestChoice's au natural pencils - crafted from sustainably harvested cedar.
Recycled and Biodegradable pens produced by Industries for the Blind, an organization staffed by the visually impaired.
5. Emailing Homework to Your Instructor
It never hurts to ask your teacher if you can email in your work or post it to the school’s web site. This saves a lot of printer paper!
Don't brown bag it; instead opt for a washable, reusable container to tote your lunch too and fro. Just make sure to avoid vinyl lunch boxes which have been shown to contain harmful levels of lead. Instead, invest in a PVC-free, thermally insulated lunch bag, one made from recycled juice boxes or from organic cotton and keep lunches cool by freezing water or juice in a reusable container and putting it in the bag. Instead of using baggies and plastic wrap for sandwiches and snacks, use reusable plastic containers or an easy to clean Wrap-n-Mat. The Laptop Lunch box system is also a solid choice for reusable lunch-packing, and includes individuals containers and beverage holders. Another new vendor is lunchopolis. For other beverages, beware of plastic bottles which may contain Bisphenol A (BPA), a hormone-disrupting chemical. Instead go with metal ones such as Klean Kanteen or Sigg which come in kid-friendly sizes and designs. Elephant Pharmacy in Walnut Creek has a great selection of stainless steel water bottles.
7. Pack a Waste Free Lunch
When it comes to the actual food that goes in the lunch box the key is to reduce food waste and reduce disposable packaging. Make extra for dinner the night before, leftovers make great lunches. Pack healthy green lunches kids will want to eat, and get them involved in choosing lunch ingredients, since they'll be less likely to pitch stuff they want to eat. Forget the mini-packs of Cheetos and Doritos; apples, oranges, bananas, and other fruit are heathful, waste-free snackables that come with their own compostable wrapping. Or send them with fruit or vegetable sticks and a couple of slices of cheese. For more ideas visit wastefreelunches.org
If one of your kids needs a new backpack, you might consider one made with recycled materials. Keen's Hybrid Transport backpacks incorporate leftover aluminum and rubber materials from their shoe-manufacturing process, along with recycled polyester and foam from outside sources. Also check out the People Pak at Fleurville.com. There are many other new eco-friendly book bags as well...
9. Use Human Power for Getting to and From School
Going green while getting back and forth to school offers a familiar refrain: human power -- walking or biking -- is best; riding the bus is next; driving alone is last. Events like Walk to School Month and activities like the Walking Bus are making it easier and safer for kids to get to school under their own power; if you don't live close enough to walk, and finding a safe bike route to school is a green way to go, too. Beyond that, even though most school buses get single-digit miles per gallon, they can also hold upwards of 60 or 70 youngsters, making them a cleaner option than single-occupancy cars (Plenty did the math for a single-occupancy hybrid car vs. a bus, and the bus won). If walking, biking, or busing aren't in the cards, be sure to divide the ride and start a parent carpool.
10. Make Green Clothes & Shoes Choices
Almost half of the money spent on back to school shopping goes to buying clothes, but new threads don't have to come with sticker shock. Hand-me-downs are a great place to get started, and thrift stores and events like Swap-o-Rama-Rama can be a fun (and cheap!) way to send your kiddies back to school in low-impact duds. Style-conscious teens can find gently used (but still ultra-hip) clothes at stores like Buffalo Exchange. If these options are exhausted before your list is done, and you have to buy new, go for well-made, high-quality choices made from more sustainable fabrics like organic cotton or bamboo rather than disposable fashion that'll wear out (and wear down the planet's resources) before spring graduation.
A couple of local places to find certified pre-owned clothes (like a good used car!) are Nifty Thrifty and Wayside Inn. These stores both offer all clothing at 50% off on Tuesdays. And you can drop some stuff off while you’re there. Reusing clothes is the greenest way to go.
If you need new clothes or shoes though there are many eco-friendly clothes stores on the Internet such
patagonia.com - great for fleece pullovers, etc.
organicclothes.com - limited selection of kids stuff, but good company
Simple Shoes - earth friendly shoes
ecogoods.com - organic cotton socks
American Apparel - organic cotton t-shirts, tanks, and cardigans
H&M - 100% and 50% organic options
Kidbean - clothing for children aged 2 to 12
My Green Closet - organic clothes for younger children
Progressive Kid - a little bit of everything
It's easy being green--remember, buy local when you can.