Back to School Fact: 49.8 million students will attend
public elementary and secondary schools in fall 2008.
As a parent, there’s one day of
the year you wake early like a sugar-addled child on Christmas. You bounce
around the house with 30 fluffy puppies-worth of skittering joy. This is the
day your kids go back to school. You bound into your children’s’ rooms, honking
an air horn not only to rouse the little buggers but to celebrate this momentous
occasion. While they slump over limp with sleep crusted eyes, you cram them
into clothes and catapult them out the door. Oh joy, the kids are back in
school!
Hold up, chief. You gotta get
them prepared first, and if you have to buy them a ton of new gear why not try
to green your shopping (and maybe save a buck or two). Besides the best thing
you can do for the earth is to pass along sustainable practices to your kids.
So before they start their math and English lessons, give ‘em a green lesson.
Think
inside the box. Ditch the brown bag and send the lil’ shavers
off the school with a reusable lunch box. And to get your child stoked about
it, get a box that features one of their favorite animated characters, like
Alf. Kids love the Alf still, right?
Take
Inventory. Sure, you’ve got a lot to buy, but before you purchase
everything on the list, take a quick look at what you already have. If last
year’s backpack is in solid shape, no reason to toss it. If you bought the kid
shoes this summer, they probably don’t need new ones.
Go
Retro. Seems like all the big clothing retailers design their clothes
to look like they came from years ago. Don’t settle for faux vintage, get the
real deal. Shops like the Buffalo Exchange specialize in high quality vintage
clothing. Think of the volumes of street cred your kid will get, and the
recycling (not to mention money saving) you’ll be doing.
Pens
You Can Eat. Luckily, earth-friendly degradable school
supplies are just about everywhere now. For instance, you can purchase pens
with shafts made of corn and ink made of soy. When you hand these beauties over
to your kid, encourage using the pens until they are dry. Once said pens go
into the landfill, thanks to their organic materials, they won’t be there for
long.
Not
White Paper, Right Paper. Go for unbound and notebook paper with the
highest amount of post consumer content. Having paper with history that has
been places may not help your kid in history or geography, but it couldn’t
hurt.
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