It’s just about time to send the kids back to school again. And what a great opportunity to make some decisions that will help keep the earth healthy for their future, all while teaching them how to do the same.
I remember myself as a child being overly zealous and excited when it came time for new school clothes and supplies. When we would get home from our big annual excursion, I would spend hours stacking and organizing all of the new pencils, pens, notebooks and all my other treasures. I would spread out my new clothes and spend hours deciding on the perfect outfit for the first day. The mere memory even now brings a smile to my face.
Your kids may share a similar experience with me. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if part of this memory for them includes learning about earth-friendly, sustainable practices and how they are helping to make a difference in the health of our planet? There are many ways to go green while shopping for back to school items.
Purchasing the right school supplies are some of the easiest ways to make some environmentally friendly decisions. Many products made from recycled paper and plastics, as well as biodegradable materials, are now readily available at most office supply and retail stores. Buying a reusable PVC-free lunchbox or bag is another excellent choice over using disposable brown paper bags everyday. (I still remember my Snoopy lunch pail from the first grade with enduring fondness.)
While it can be a little more of a challenge to find organic cotton and other sustainable fabric clothing options, more and more retailers are beginning to offer green options. Conventionally grown cotton is responsible for 25% of the world’s insecticides and 10% of the world’s pesticides, dangerous carcinogens that seep into our groundwater and pollute natural wildlife habitats. By choosing to purchase clothing made from organic cotton, wool, hemp, bamboo, silk or ramie you are also choosing to keep dangerous chemicals from polluting our world.
When purchasing a new computer, consider a laptop over a desktop. A laptop uses from two to five times less energy than a standard desktop computer, takes up much less space and the amount of materials used in production are also significantly less.
So spend some time with your children planning and shopping for their supplies and clothes this year. Take the opportunity to educate them on how to be good stewards of our planet. Instill being green as part of their own decision making process as future consumers themselves. And be sure to tell them that you are doing it to ensure a healthy, sustainable future for them.
-Change your vehicles air filter. Changing a dirty air filter can increase your fuel efficiency by up to ten percent.
