Back to School!
by Karin
August snuck up on us and just like that, back to school! Your friends at Go Green have got your back with some tips to go green and avoid plastic. The "Back to School" season is an expensive time of the year, with a strong focus on consumption! We all try our best, but I know I could use a reminder to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle when all I want to do is want to get things checked off my list! Even if you don’t have anyone in the household going back to school, there are bound to be a few tips you can use. Other tip ideas for BTS, let us know!
Learn: Our best pro tips for back-to-school season!
Shop your storage spaces for back to school supplies! As the year goes on, consolidate all of your school supplies in one area of a closet. If you start ‘shopping’ there before heading out to buy your school supplies, you may find everything you need (except for those 8-packs of Expo dry erase markers that show up on the list every year!) Avoid buying those 'total supply' kits– so much is likely duplicative of what you have! To make your closet shopping easier, here are links to local back to school lists, worth a peek if you don’t have children and don’t believe us about the Expo marker craving! (School Supply Lists: Forest Glen, Churchill, Ben Franklin, Lincoln, Park View/D89, Hadley.)
PRO TIP: If you need new things, avoid the office supply shop with plastic materials and packaging, and check out one of our favorite stores, Wisdom Supply. If you have to buy paper, consider 100% post-consumer recycled paper and paper that is chlorine-free.
PRO TIP: If your closet shopping turns up extra school supplies, our friends at SCARCE can often take them off your hands. Here is what they accept (which can change when they get full!).
Avoid as much plastic as you can in back to school accessories shopping like backpacks and binders. We get it, plastic is EVERYWHERE. However, there are ways to avoid the worst offenders. The plastic we know as vinyl has been banned from children’s toys, but not from typical back to school purchases like binders, lunch boxes and backpacks. Vinyl is made with a chemical group called phthalates that have been implicated in chronic health conditions including asthma and learning disabilities.
PRO TIP: Avoid “shiny” plastics, and look for labels that say BPA-free, phthalate-free, and PVC-free or better yet, are made from natural materials like wool, hemp or canvas.
PRO TIP: Here is a great site for plastic-free ideas, or shopping!
Win Lunch with fun, reusable non-plastic foodware! Avoiding plastic is even more important when it involves consumables. Think stainless water bottle, metal bento-boxes for lunch, reusable cloth bags or beeswax wraps, and a cutlery set made out of bamboo. Put it all in an insulated wool lunch bag and you have done lunch sans plastic!
PRO TIP: When purchasing food for lunches you can also be on the lookout for ways to reduce plastic: Remember your reusable bag, try to avoid things with extra packaging like bagged produce, order from a CSA (Community Supported Ag) shares, or from bulk stores with your own container.
PRO TIP: If your child gets lunch at school but you are interested in having less plastic in their lunch, check out the Cafeteria Culture website.
“New” BTS wardrobe does not have to be new! First, head into the closet to see what is worn out and can be mended, does not fit and can be donated, etc. and make a list of what you need. Then shop siblings’ closets for hand-me-downs, or even your own! Thrifting or garage sale finds also involve the thrill of the hunt.
PRO TIP: Hold a swap with friends! My daughter’s high school friends hold an annual clothes swap and fashion show. A sweater that a friend is tired of might be just the thing that spices up your BTS wardrobe.
PRO TIP: If you have to buy, try to avoid so-called ‘fast fashion’ and opt for quality, natural fabrics that will last and you can pass down. (Look for an upcoming GGGE e-newsletter on this topic!)
Avoid hidden plastics in clothes. Speaking of clothes, did you know that many brands of leggings are made with BPA? The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) did a study that found dangerous levels of BPA in famous brand leggings, sports bras and other exercise/lounging clothing. It’s difficult to avoid synthetics (we get it, they are comfy!) but for your health - and the planet’s - it's worth some effort to find alternatives.
PRO TIP: Here is a primer on finding better leggings.
PRO TIP: Here are some great tips for having less toxic clothing.
Need more ideas for back-to-school shopping?
We have included some ideas for sustainable products for schools supplies in our Sustainable Schools section on the Go Green GE website. Let us know your suggestions!
BEST PRO TIP: Discuss some of these ideas with your kids or grandkids and get their view…they may help lead the charge toward a zero waste back-to-school season!
Willing to take a bigger step to help your school become greener? Go Green is looking for advocates in all Glen Ellyn schools to partner on programs or projects! We all need to work together to build a more sustainable future and our youngest can help lead the way. Contact us at gogreenglenellyn@gmail.com!
