With our kids going back to school and preparations for a great school year in swing, it’s a good time for parents to consider practicing eco-friendly activities for our planet. To help you have an eco-friendly school year, here are five back to school shopping tips.
Environmentally friendly shoes
The beginning of a new school season is usually a time when parents shop around for new clothing and shoes. After all, children grow quickly, and it’s an ideal time to make sure that they have nice things to wear to show off at their new school and with classmates.
As you look for their back-to-school outfits, take time to find eco-friendly options that are designed for sustainability and created to last. While you may need to spend a little bit more, the durability provided by options that are made to be used for years is worth it. From eco friendly kid shoes to clothing made with sustainability in mind, there are a plethora of options that aren’t fast fashion.
Containers for lunches
It may be easy to pick up a bunch of packaged food lunches for your kid and call it a day. However, this isn’t the best way to practice eco-friendly habits for school and isn’t the healthiest option for them either.
To avoid all the extra waste and also provide nutritional meals for your little ones, consider investing in eco friendly lunch boxes with built-in containers for their school bags and cooking at home. This way, you have more control over the ingredients in their meals while doing something great for the planet.
Buy food in bulk
Another way to avoid waste is to shop at places like Costco or Sam’s Club, where you can buy your kid’s favorite snacks in bulk. This way, you simply pack up mini containers with their favorite snacks instead of sending packaged snacks every day.
For example, if you buy nut and raisin mixes at your local grocery store, you’re probably only going to find individual packets. On the other hand, you can get enough snacks to last you a couple of weeks at bulk stores. Plus, they’ll be all in one package.
Eco-friendly supplies
Your little ones need pencils and erasers for school, and there’s not much way around this. However, you can make sure that you’re doing your part for the environment by shopping around for school material brands that use recyclable and biodegradable materials to design everything from pencils to notebooks. Additionally, see if you already have pencils, pens, etc., from last year’s haul that you can use again.
While it can be exciting for kids to get new supplies every year, when you share the reason behind reusing last year’s goods, you can inspire your kids to practice sustainable habits as well.
Bicycles for commuting to school
Do you want to avoid using a car for everything? If the school is close enough, you could consider investing in bicycles for their daily commute, especially if they’re old enough to handle the responsibility.
An alternative if they’re still young and you have the time is to ride bikes with them. This way, everyone gets exercise while the whole family does their part to practice sustainable habits for our planet.
In Conclusion
It can be easy to go overboard when shopping for your children’s back-to-school materials, new school clothing and shoes, and even school lunches and snacks. Whether you’re preparing for elementary or kindergarten, you want your kids to have enough. With these tips above, you can make sure they have what they need while also practicing some environmentally friendly practices for the planet’s health.
