Today’s lesson: green school supplies

Want your kids to learn the importance of a green lifestyle? Back-to-school shopping is a great place to start.

For many families, the start of school means a major shopping trip, and you may be wondering how to buy all of the supplies your kids will need while maintaining your eco-friendly values.

To help, I have compiled a list of some of the coolest (and most affordable) back-to-school gear around.

Ditching plastic bags is a simple way to reduce your carbon footprint in the long run. Worldwide, an estimated 4 billion plastic bags end up as litter each year. Tied end to end, that’s enough to circle the earth 63 times.

What’s more, plastic bags never break down completely, filling our landfills and ending up in the ocean where they can harm wildlife. Even paper bags, though better, often wind up in landfills.

But back-to-school means packing lunches so what is a green parent to do? Opt for a reusable lunch bag.

One of my favorite products is the 2-Tier Action Pack from To-Go Ware. This double-decker, stainless-steel Tiffin set allows you to tote soup and salad or chips and salsa in separate containers.

Along with the containers, you get a bamboo utensil kit, all packed in a carrier bag woven from cotton scraps collected from recycling sites throughout Ghaziabad, India, then dyed with natural dyes, cut, and sewn.

The bag comes in two colors, and you can choose between three styles of utensils. The 2-Tier Action Pack retails for $46.

I also love the neoprene Tasty Lunch Tote from Built. While Neoprene isn’t an eco-friendly material, per se, having a bag that your child can use day in and day out is far better than paper or plastic.

In addition to being stylish and reusable, the insulated Tasty Lunch Tote keeps foods cold (or hot if you get fancy with the leftovers) for several hours.

The bags, which contain no lead or PVC, store flat and are machine washable. The Tasty Lunch Tote retails for $22.

Another lunchbox option is the Mini Lunchbox from Organica Deluxe. These thermal lunchbox coolers are sustainably made by a women’s cooperative in the Philippines using waste packaging from used juice containers.

This material, if not used to make these bags, would normally be deposited into landfills, so by using these sacks you’ll be keeping waste of out landfills in two ways.

The bags come in a variety of fun and colorful prints and can also be used as a mini cooler for an end-of-summer trip to the beach.

Ready to reduce the amount of trash your family makes even further? Bag the plastic sandwich bags.

While convenient, most are used only once before winding up in the trash. Instead, pick up reusable sandwich and snack bags from Eco Ditty and RuMe. Eco Ditty bags are made of 100 percent organic cotton, which can be used then machine-washed.

These bags are perfect for dry snacks, like nuts or chips, and for the requisite PB&J. For messier snacks and sandwiches, try the water-resistant polyester bags by RuMe, which come in a bevy of fun prints. These too can be machine-washed.

School supplies are another purchase that can be green. Carolina Pad’s Sasquach line features super cute notebooks, folders, and binders that are made recycled materials (between 60 and 100 percent depending on the product).

The One-Subject Notebook, the Ideal Book, the Composition Book, and the 19-Month Planner are among the 100 percent recycled products.

The notebooks vary in price but are comparable to (if not cheaper than) conventional products.

Looking for an eco-friendly book bag? Try one of the sustainable school bags from Rickshaw Bagworks.

The exterior fabric on all of the company’s bags and backpacks are made of 100 percent post-consumer water bottles.

The bags come in a variety of styles and colors and can be customized to fit your child’s personality. Prices range from $40 to $200.

Does your kid tote a laptop back and forth to school? If so you’ll want to check out the Neogreene laptop sleeve from GreenSmart, made from 100 percent post-consumer water bottles.

The cases are padded for protection and waterproof, in the event the case comes in contact with a wayward juice box. The Neogreene laptop sleeve retails for $25.

I hope what you have learned today is that it is easy being green, even in the classroom. Class dismissed.

Heather O’Neill is the founder of Eco to the People, a green living blog. You can email her at heather@ecotothepeople.com.

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