Yes, its that time again! What is about back to school that gets everyone excited…even if you homeschool?
This year I will have one child at home (and my toddler of course) and one in private school so I do have to do the whole “back to school” thing for her and finding ways to green the school routine are FUN! For the most part I get to just breeze past the local store displays of crayola crayons and lunchboxes…although I have found some green options there too. Here are some cool “green” school supplies for you:
Eco Friendly Pencils and Crayons
Pineapple Flavored – Recyced Pencils– Remember these from my eco art review? They are scented pencils made from 100% recycled newspapers. They sharpen and write like regular pencils but smell better and they save trees. They come in delicious scents like bubblegum, cherry, root beer, and pineapple.
Stockmar Beeswax Block Crayons – Made out of Beeswax and shaped into rectangles. They also come in a handy tin. But if you want traditional looking crayons you can get the Stockmar Beeswax Stick Crayons.
Soybean Crayons – environmentally friendly Prang soybean crayons. You can usually find these at office supply stores too.
Green Notebooks and Paper
Tree Free Notebooks– This paper is made with kenaf, a fibrous plant from the Mallow family that’s related to cotton and okra, has made it an increasingly viable alternative economically. Put simply, Kenaf offers a way to make paper without cutting trees.
Elephant Poop Paper!– I just love the idea behind this product. In Sri Lanka, villagers capitalize on something they have a lot of… elephant dung! Brought to you through Ellie Pooh, a socially conscious business in Sri Lanka. Wouldn’t your kids get a kick out of telling people their paper is made from poop?
Green Lunch Boxes and Water Bottles
The Laptop Lunchbox– This is my all time favorite lunchbox. It is an American style bento box
and I LOVE bentos. They also promotes waste free lunches because each compartment eliminates the need for plastic baggies. They also come with real flatware and a cloth napkin can be put inside it too. This lunchbox helps me pack healthy and environmentally friendly meals for my kids. You can see some of the lunches I made here and you can read a more detailed review here.
We have a collection of bentos so my kids have always had the coolest lunches. At my son’s school last year I became known as the mom who makes those awesome lunches, LOL.
And while we are on the subject of lunch boxes I must recommend Mabel’s Labels if you want quality, permanent labels for your lunchbox and other school gear.
For cloth napkins I recommend Fabkins. They are super cute napkins that appeal to kids and help eliminate paper waste from disposable napkins.
Mr. Bento– is another bento box I like. This one is better for older kids and adults. It is a stylish stainless steel lined, thermos style lunchbox. There is one designed for boys and one for girls.
Crocodile Creek Green Lunchboxes – Adorable designs. I love the Dinosaurs design.
Eco-Friendly Ocean Lunch Bag from Mimi the Sardine – a very cute lunch bag made of cloth!
Klean Kanteen- Another one of my personal favorites! These stainless steel water bottles do not leach chemicals into your water like plastic ones do and they are a much more sustainable option. They come in many different sizes and with different choices.
Sigg Reusable Water Bottles – These aluminum water bottles are very attractive to younger kids. My daughter has one for her lunch bag.
Wrap-N-Mat– We have several of these reusable sandwich bags. They are perfect for wrapping your food so that you no longer need to use plastic baggies. This cuts down on needless landfill waste.
Eco Friendly Backpacks and Bags
Blabla Backpacks – Each backpack is hand-knitted by Peruvian artists using techniques that are passed
down from generation to generation. We love the vibrant colors and whimsical design…especially the butterfly backpack.
Solar Powered Backpack– This stylish and smart backpack is the first in a line of backpacks with an integrated solar charging solution. It provides a quality pack with an integrated solar charging module for your high-tech toys. If your child has a cell phone or iPod then they might really like this backpack.
Basura Coin Purse-This is perfect for holding lunch money and they are made from recycled juice containers. I saw one similar to this that holds pencils at Walgreen’s recently too.
Basura Messenger Bag- For the eco-stylish this messenger bag made from juice containers is the perfect fit. Tween and teen girls would love these.
Eco Friendly Clothing
Tees for Change makes awesome organic tees (cotton/bamboo) that will appeal to young women. They have great messages printed on them, like Choose Happiness and Practice Kindness. They have a good sale going on right now too.
Rawganique’s line of eco clothing for kids is made from certified US cotton. One of my faves!
Garden Kids Clothing – Garden Kids creates children’s clothing using organically grown cotton and fair wage practices. They are stylish, durable, and comfy. :)
Other Cool Stuff:
