Back-to-School Special: It’s Time to Teach Kids to Go Green
The Mess of Mass-Produced, Unsustainable Items
Think about all the mess we all collectively make that goes into our landfills and oceans. With the increase in purchasing power, most households like to buy things that are not always important or even necessary. Stores are also luring customers with added benefits in the form of huge discounts, points, or even free gifts for buying products that don’t benefit us in meaningful or long-term ways.
Plastic Bubble Wands
Think about the bubble wand that comes for free if your purchase adds up to $75 or more. Now if your bill is $70, the cashier will encourage you to buy something else to meet the $75 to get the bubble wand. Your child standing next to you will beg you for that free bubble wand and because you’re under pressure, you will spend your hard-earned money to reach $75. “Here is your free bubble wand.” You smile because your child is happy and you both come home with that cheap plastic item that will soon end up in your trash can.
The child opens the bubble wand, blows a few bubbles, drops the rest of the soapy liquid on the floor, and then cries for more. The wand finds a new home in the trash. That’s the life-cycle of almost all bubble wands in the summer. This is exactly what my kids do too. Initially I would buy lots of bubble wands, but now I just make that soapy water at home. It isn’t that difficult. Just google it. Why spend money on something that only hurts the environment?
Plastic Straws
When it comes to kids, we forget everything else and get anything they demand. When my son wouldn’t drink milk from a cup, I got colourful plastic straws for him only to realize they are such a mess. I thought he would pick the color he liked and drink from the cup but instead he would pick 3 straws at a time and trash all three of them in a matter of 2 minutes. That was too much waste generated by a 2 year old.
Sustainable Alternatives for Back-to-School Purchases
To solve my plastic straw situation, I got stainless steel straws. They’re reusable and durable. No more mess. Now think of all the kid and back-to-school stuff that you can replace with eco-friendly items to benefit the environment at large:
1. Mechanical Pencils and Eco-Friendly Erasers
2. Recycled Pens and Markers
3. Recycled Paper and Notebooks
Always reuse paper and notebooks left from the previous year.
4. Binders with Cardboard Covers
Look for the cardboard cover instead of the plastic one. If it has a recycled cover, it will be clearly marked.
5. DIY Pencil Cases, Lunch Bags, and Shopping Bags From Old Denim
As kids, we used to make pencil cases with old denim. If you have leftover fabric, use it to make pencil cases or lunch bag or even shopping bag. My mother used my old uniforms to make shopping bags. Back then, it looked so odd but now it makes so much sense.
6. Local and Handmade Bags
If you go to trade fairs or local night markets, you will see people selling such homemade bags, pencil cases and what not. Consider buying from them to become more eco-friendly and support their businesses at the same time.
7. Reusable Bottles and Lunch Boxes
Sustainable Buying Habits
1. Refrain from buying all the trending items in the kids’ market
It’s especially easy to give into buying school supplies with cartoon characters on them. The more you buy, the more demand you create and more would be the supply.
2. Buy Second-Hand
I like the way second hand markets are emerging these days. It is not uncommon to buy second-hand clothes or items from people who do not need them. Instead of throwing them away, these people sell them online/offline to others. Sometimes, the items are almost new and available at really cheap prices. Why not take the opportunity to go easy on our pockets and environment? I myself have bought toys second hand and when my kids were done with a particular toy, I sold it again at almost the same price.
3. Donate Clothes, Books, and School Supplies Your Kids No Longer Need
Teach your kids about how they can help other kids by donating their old clothing, shoes, books and toys. Teach them to take care of their belongings so that they can be passed on to others, even if it’s to their own siblings.
I remember wearing my brother’s old blazer to school. 
I was the youngest, so I would always get stuff passed on from my brothers and cousin’s sisters, especially school books. They were strictly told to keep the books clean for me. I also teach my older son to keep his clothes clean and maintain his belongings so his younger brother can use them. That doesn’t mean I don’t get anything new for the younger one. I just take every opportunity to make items last longer in the house.
Beyond Sustainable School Purchases: Sustainable Habits Begin Early
There are many other options to make more sustainable purchases and decisions when it comes to back-to-school and other kids’ items. We can’t expect the kids to behave exactly the way we want. But we can try to make them understand why it is important to not waste food, resources, energy and water. I tell my kids the importance of sorting trash too. I teach them to throw recyclable materials in the blue bin, organic waste in the green one, and everything else in the black one. This kind of hands-on learning should begin early so that it becomes part of life.
There are many more ways of going green in the kids’ department, as well as many more things that can either be replaced or not purchased to help the environment.
Can you come up with more ideas or tell us what you do in your daily life to eliminate waste, recycle more and live sustainably?
