Last-minute Green Back-to-School Checklist

Aug 25 2009

Published by ARKist at 6:17 pm under Food and Home, Fuel/Transportation, News, U.S. Edit This

Even though school may have already started, you haven’t had a chance to ponder how to make your child’s school reentry green. But you are still in that short grace period while teachers are easing students into the new year and before many activities get rolling. The good news: You still have time. Classroom III (elementary)

So even if you’ve already bought some school supplies and new clothes to get your kids started, you can use this checklist for the next round of purchases and scheduling decisions. (Left: by xadrian, Flickr.com)

It’s not too late to think about the environmental impact of all the paper, plastic, toxic fabric treatments and pollutants from older-generation school buses.

For busy moms and pops, here is our considered checklist, culled from an aggregate of the best and brightest green back-to-school lists out there. Scroll to the bottom of this story for links to these lists. Most of them advise you where to find green products.

√ SUPPLIES

The average school tosses 38 tons of paper—more than 8 million sheets—a year, according to iVillage’s “Green Back-to-School Guide.” That’s because paper is still the preferred medium in K-12. So finding earth-friendly paper should be at the top of your list. Some tree-saving solutions: recycled and unbleached paper, available at Hanging backpacks most large retailers, including Wal-Mart; paper products left over from the last school year (tear out used pages or unused pages, and include what remains pristine among your child’s notebooks); thrift stores, where you’ll spend pennies on paper products that might otherwise be thrown out.

Binders and notebooks are ripe terrain for recyclables. If you buy them new, look for those made of recycled materials. Think before you buy, and don’t buy more than you need, especially in the office supply stores that offer multiples of certain (toxic) items for a pittance. Backpacks and lunch boxes abound in thrift stores; you’ll be able to pick up several for pennies on the dollar. (Above, backpacks hanging in a school cloakroom: by Steve Wilhelm, Flickr.com)

Look for biodegradable pencils and refillable pens, advises Planet Green.

√ CLOTHING

Every schoolkid wants new clothes for the beginning of the school year. But new doesn’t have to mean right off the rack. It can mean new to your child. Many parents are already swapping their kids’ clothes for those from other families as a cost-cutting device. Reusing is archetypal green behavior; so if you haven’t started, go ahead and organize kids’ clothing swaps. You might get beautiful pieces that have seen little or no wear. If you must buy some things new, try out the superdurable clothing made from recycled denim or organic cotton, or other recycled and organic fabrics. Leave the bleaching and the off-gassing from toxic fabric finishes to the discount giants. You can even find athletic shoes with recycled rubber treads and organic fabric uppers. (T-shirt: by Trash it, Flickr.com)

√ FOOD

School lunches are undergoing a sea change in many places across America. If your child cannot yet get healthy school lunch boxes food at school, try these two rules: pack fresh, if possible organic, food in containers your child will bring back home in the lunch box, and avoid including food in packaging that gets thrown away. Simple food that’s fun and easy to eat is most likely to actually get eaten—and not traded for some yummy-looking, but preservative-laden chocolate pudding in a plastic container. A few suggestions: one- or two-ingredient sandwiches (peanut butter and jelly, chicken salad made with mango chutney, cheddar cheese with turkey bacon and light mayo) on whole grain bread accompanied by veggie or fruit spears with a yogurt and honey dip. Forget disposable juice boxes, and opt for a small thermos that fits into the lunch box; try filling it with Mom’s homemade smoothie, organic juices, or for older kids, sparkling water. For snacks, please nix the oh-so-unhealthy gummi bears, and instead pack whole-grain crackers or trail mix with dried fruit. (Above, school lunch boxes: by Steve Wilhelm, Flickr.com)

√ TRANSPORTATION

Getting to and from school can be a problem. Maybe you live on a school bus route or you live four blocks from school, and you still drive your youngster to school—just to be safe. There’s no doubt that safety has to be a paramount concern these days. But there are ways to be both safe and green. Get to know your school bus school bus back driver, then decide whether or not to use the bus. Seriously, a gas-guzzling bus—especially the newer, more energy-efficient generation—full of kids uses proportionately less gas than a hybrid ferrying one child. If you live close enough to walk or bike with your child, maybe this is for you. Or if your child is old enough, consider a “walking bus,” where a long line of children walk to school together, “picking up” children along the way. You may live a longer distance from the school and you really want to avoid that older, polluting bus; if so, think about organizing with other neighborhood parents a system of shared rides—one week you drive five or six kids in your car, next week your neighbor does, and so on. The thing you really don’t want to do: one parent driving one or two kids every day of the school year. (Right: Sabrina Tang, Flickr.com)