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Eco-Friendly and Budget-Friendly Back to School
Janelle Sorensen
Friday, August 15, 2008
Like every other mid-August since I was six years old, I feel like summer has disappeared in the blink of an eye. My daughters see the displays at stores and ask when we’re going to go school supply shopping. I’ve been putting them off in order to find the greenest products I can. Like most other Americans, I’m trying to balance the rising price of food and fuel with seasonal needs like back-to-school supplies. Here are the results of my research, so you too can send your kids back in eco-style.
Your first step should be hitting thrift stores and the internet to find things like backpacks and clothes. The absolute best way to cut costs and protect the planet is by buying second-hand. Even if you have the money to buy 100% organic cotton clothing and the cutest recycled backpack, it creates less pollution to buy used. Visit your local thrift stores and use sites like My Kids Closet, Cheap Kids Clothes, Rascal Resale, and Ebay.
Since you can saved so much on used necessities, you can splurge a little bit on the items you have to buy new, like notebooks, markers, and crayons. We recently blogged about The Center for Health, Environment, and Justice’s new guide for buying PVC-free supplies, and Nature Mom has a great Back to School Green Style Guide. You can also find helpful information at Ideal Bite, The Green Guide, and The Green Office.
Even if you can’t go green on everything, pick at least one thing. Make a statement, teach your kids, and introduce eco-inspiration at your child’s school (my daughter’s lunchbox last year made from old juice boxes was an immediate conversation starter with students and teachers alike). You can do it, too!
Posted by luggageguy on 10/27 at 08:21 PM
Just as you mentioned, “The absolute best way to cut costs and protect the planet is by buying second-hand.” I agree with you. Second-hand goods create much less pollution. For example, we use the second-hand books.