Earth-friendly back to school tips

Simple ways to preserve our EcoSystem this September

Douglas Daily Dispatch - Douglas, AZ, August 17, 2006

With millions of parents buying new clothes, sneakers, book bags and lunch boxes among other things like pencils, binders and other school supplies each year, it's no wonder that September connotates a “fresh, new start” for many families. What a perfect time for parents to start introducing earth-friendly concepts into their children's everyday lives. The EcoMall offers the following green alternatives to the traditional back-to-school supplies along with other ideas for parents to help “green” their schools.

According to Tom Kay, co-founder and president of the EcoMall, “Petroleum oil, a non-renewable resource, is used in the manufacture of chemicals and plastic commonly found in most school supplies. Environmentally speaking, using supplies made of natural ingredients is always preferable. Recycling paper products should be common practice.” The following check list can be used for environmentally conscious school supply shopping - not just for parents as they do their own shopping, but for parents to pass on to school administrators for the products they will be buying. Shopping with the planet in mind can also protect your child from potentially hazardous chemicals (particularly those found in art supplies).

What to buy:

Pencils, (regular and colored)
Refillable pens
Crayons
Notebooks and paper supplies made of recycled paper
Notebooks covered in cardboard
Water-based paints and poster paints
White school glue or paste
Vegetable or plant-based dyes

What to avoid:

Magic markers
Disposable pens
Plastic folders, notebooks
Acrylic paints and scented art products (these contain large amounts of chemicals and may be a hazard to children’s health, particularly to young children who try to eat them)
Epoxy or instant bonding glues
Artists’ pastel crayons (some may contain asbestos)
Dyes made of fiber reactive or commercial dyes
Glossy paper used for art projects

School administrators and children alike need to be educated about diminishing natural resources and encouraged to do their part in preserving the planet. Another good reason to “go green” this September, according to Marianne Schnall, co-founder of the EcoMall with Kay, is for health reasons. Using art supplies made with natural ingredients avoids any kind of exposure (ingestion, inhalation, or absorption through skin) of any possible hazardous ingredients and solvents such as lead, asbestos and cadmium. “What’s good for the planet is good for your child, our families and society as a whole,” said Ms. Schnall. “The small effort it takes to consciously purchase your children’s school supplies and family’s paper goods makes an enormous difference to the health and integrity of our planet.”

Other ideas the EcoMall suggests to green-minded parents include:

Get your schools pre-recycling: Encourage your school to buy recycled products, as well as instituting a good recycling program. Most school systems purchase in bulk from the company that gives the best bid. When teachers place their school orders for the year, they should request recycled paper products. A lot of the big companies do have recycled papers in their lines. There are many reasons to recycle and purchase recycled products for our homes, schools and offices. Instituting solid recycling programs in your school, will in the long run save your school money. Recycling doesn't always refer to how you throw things out. It refers to how you use things again. Schools should remember to use both sides of the paper, save and reuse paper clips, thumbtacks, rubber bands, etc. and recycle newspapers, cans, and bottles.
Make your school a toxin-free zone: Talk to your school about changing over to non-toxic cleaners (which impact indoor air quality), as well as providing organic food and juice, as well as rBGH-free milk. Make sure your school is not using toxic pesticides in or around the school, which can pose significant health risks to your children if exposed.
Beautifying your schools: Speak with school administrators about planting a tree on school grounds each September, or flowers can be planted by children at a later date.
When choosing your children’s back to school wardrobe, support companies offering organic cotton and hemp clothing. Not only are there many fashionable lines for kids now available, but these products do not contain toxic pesticides - which is better for your children, and the planet. Conventional cotton cultivation uses 25% of the world's pesticides. Approximately 5.4 pounds of various chemical fertilizers and pesticides are used to grow one acre of cotton in North America. Each year 800 million pounds of pesticides are used on US cotton fields.
Do your back-to-school shopping online (minus the pollution from car travel or the waste of paper catalogues) and support environmentally friendly products. Here at the EcoMall web site we feature hundreds of earth-friendly companies offering everything from recycled paper products, organic and hemp clothing for kids, natural toys and crafts, organic food products and more.

Since 1994, the EcoMall web site has been helping to connect people with environmental organizations, companies and
information. The mission at EcoMall.com is to offer the inspiration and the resources to begin a more sustainable, healthy, environmentally-aware lifestyle. Featuring "Green Living Magazine", "Enlightenment Library" and
much more.