A Greener Back-to-School Season: Items Made to Last
Last month, I adopted a new puppy. He’s a four-month old bernedoodle named Bentley. More berner than poodle, Bentley still has all the spunk of a mischievous poodle pup. When he’s not cuddling, eating or sleeping, my little pooch prioritizes play. But since he has no puppy pals to play with at home, he’s adopted a sure-fire way of getting my attention—he steals my shoes.
That might be fine if Bentley didn’t love chewing so much. Sure, a sneaker can briefly endure a puppy’s jaws if you have the chance to snatch it back before long. But most shoes can’t withstand repeated gnawing. So, to prevent my shoe collection from near destruction, I carefully keep my shoes tucked away in the closet, safe from the mouth of my puckish pup.
Saving My Shoes From the Landfill
Last week, I wasn’t so careful. One evening, I failed to close the closet door. Before I knew it, Bentley had made off with my treasured pair of black leather sandals. When I noticed, it was too late. The sole had been gnawed into near oblivion. You’d think it might be easy to shrug off the mishap because these days, it’s easy to buy a new pair of shoes. But I didn’t want to surrender my favourite shoes just yet. I sent them to the local cobbler, who promised he’d get them back in mint condition by the following Tuesday.
It’s hard to believe that for just under 20 bucks, my cobbler lived up to his promise. The shoes look like new. And how satisfying it felt to save those sandals from ending up in a landfill.
Waste in Canada
In Canada, we don’t usually see all the waste we produce. An efficient waste-management system sweeps away our trash—out of sight, out of mind. But if you lived in Toronto 10 years ago, you may remember the municipal workers’ strike. For 5 weeks, no one came to carry off your garbage. Instead, Torontonians travelled to dumps in city parks where waste buried four metres deep awaited them.
Canada leads the developed world in waste production with 720 kilos of waste per capita.
Fast Fashion
A disproportionate amount consists of discarded clothing. In January 2018, the CBC reported that, on average, Canadians buy 70 new pieces of new clothing per year. Call it fast fashion or throw-away couture, many of our cheap buys barely make it to the next season. A Salvation Army centre outside of Toronto receives 90 tonnes of clothing a week. It struggles to keep those 90 tonnes out of landfills. Companies like H&M boast sustainable solutions to the crisis with clever marketing campaigns. Recycling boxes in H&M stores suggest that the old textiles you leave there will be recycled into new ones. But only 1 percent makes it to a recycling plant. Most of those “recycled” pieces of clothing go overseas, where they end up being burned.
How to Be Eco-Friendly For Back-to-School Season
It may be a ritual for you to buy new outfits for your kids. You want them to start off the school year looking their best. But you don’t want to be a part of this vicious cycle of fast fashion. If you do invest in new threads—for yourself or for your kids—invest in eco-friendly brands that are made to last, not made to add to a landfill.
Why spend money on clothing that you’ll toss after only a few months when you can save money by buying long-lasting alternatives or repairing old clothing? Take my dog-chewed sandal story to heart. The earth will thank you.
What other ways can you green your back-to-school shopping?
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Avoid plastic lunch boxes and single-use plastic containers and cutlery
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Get ahead of the game and invest in stainless steel mugs and straws
