How to find eco-friendly school supplies

In their 13 years from kindergarten to the end of high school, children will go through many style changes. This means countless colours, styles and brands of binders, notebooks, pencils and art supplies, but it doesn't have to mean a lot of unnecessary waste.

Buying hundreds of pencils over your child's school career gets expensive and you're not the only one paying the price – all of those pencils had to come from a tree somewhere. Consider making some of the following eco-friendly changes when shopping for your child's school supplies (and even for your own personal office supplies) in order to minimize the impact you make on the environment.

Then: Disposable plastic sandwich bags
Now: Reusable sandwich holders
Sending your child to school with a bagged sandwich every day for one school year means about 200 plastic bags will be thrown away. If you buy one or two sturdy containers, you can reduce that number to zero.

Then: Plastic binders and bright white looseleaf paper
Now: Eco-friendly binders and recycled paper
When buying new, try to look for notebooks and binders with covers made from recycled cardboard. If last year's binders aren't falling apart, make recovering them a project you can work on with your kids. They'll feel like they have brand new school supplies and you won't have to replace perfectly good materials. Then, fill those binders with recycled paper for a truly eco-friendly book!
 
Then: New clothes from a big box retailer
Now: Locally made clothes and thrift-store shopping
Many independent Canadian clothing companies pride themselves on the organic cotton and natural materials they use in their products, so check out local shops for eco-friendly and fair-trade items. If you're looking for deals, thrift stores offer the opportunity to make someone else's trash your treasure before it actually piles up as garbage.

Then: New ink cartridges for your printer
Now: Ink refills
Reusing something as small as an ink cartridge can save a lot of plastic from clogging our landfills. Refill your original cartridge with new ink and eliminate the waste and extra packaging that comes with a replacement.

Then: Disposable pens and pencils
Now: Refillable pens and pencils
By purchasing one pack of refillable pencils, your family can avoid adding to the unnecessary numbers of wood pencils produced each year – enough to circle the planet 62 times. It's a cheaper alternative and you won't create nearly as much waste.

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