It is officially that time of year when football (or a big bowl of chili during football) is on the brain, the leaves will be changing colors soon and the kids head back-to-school. I love the fall season as I always feel that it is a “new” year with new possibilities and a fresh start to discovering joys and fulfilling dreams. So let’s start this “new beginning” off on a green foot, wha-da-ya-say?
There are several things we can do to follow up our summer-greenness and green-up this school year too!
1. Buy recycled paper and always recycle what you have! (we use the back sides of all those sheets of misc. paperwork that comes home everyday in school bags as coloring paper etc)
2. Reuse supplies from the previous year before buying new
3. Shop thrift stores for clothes, or swap with friends
4. Use soy-based crayons rather than petroleum waxed-based (Clementine Art)
5. Reconsider your mode of transportation by carpooling, using public transit, walking or biking
6. Buy an eco-friendly, stainless steel water bottle rather than disposables
7. Set a timer for showers and keep the water pressure on low
8. Buy a safe lunchbox and accessories that do not contain lead, BPA, or phthalates (some of my favs are Planet Box and Citizinpip)
9. Resist the urge to splurge and get only what you really need.
10. Avoid the number 3 and go PVC FREE! PVC is a poison in plastics – so look for PVC-free supplies whenever possible! If it has the number “3” inside it, or the letters “V” or “PVC” underneath it, you know the product is made out of PVC. Check out the Back-to-School guide to PVC-Free school supplies from The Center for Health, Environment and Justice before purchasing supplies.
11. Terracycle pencils and office supplies all the way! Each year 80,000 trees are destroyed to produce more than 14 billion pencils. As an eco-friendly innovator TerraCycle™ has intervened by replacing virgin wood with recycled newspaper. For more upcycled products go see them right here!
12. Make sure to visit your Farmer’s Market each week and stock up on fresh local produce for healthy lunch packing and snacks and don’t forget t have your kids help! This is a great way to inspire and teach them all about sustainable healthy food habits!
13. Avoid using antibacterial sprays, lotions and gels as well as antibacterial soaps. Good old fashion “regular” soap is much healthier for your child than those ”that contain triethanolamine. Anti-bacterial hand soaps have been proven to cause more harm than good because they kill beneficial bacteria as well as the bad stuff and may be leading to super-strains of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. (see point 14 on probiotics). Hand sanitizers that contain the ingredient triethanolamine can damage liver and kidneys” (ivillage).
14. Get a good probiotic! I highly encourage you to try out Vidazorb chewable probiotics, as they have been amazing in our family’s life! Their Belly Boost for kids helped our son so much with his food intolerances and eczema and there are many studies showing how beneficial these can be for all of us by aiding in digestion and possibly boosting our immunities too. Getting back to point 13, probiotics are a great way to restore the good bacteria that we need for optimal wellness! Check out their Back-To-School Special 30% off by 8/31/10
15. Turn the water off while brushing teeth!
16. Purchase eco-friendly, non-toxic backpacks and bags! (Our M has an awesome hemp and fair-trade made bag from EarthDivas and I also like these cute ones from ecogear).
So here’s to a happy green school year and happy healthy green kids! They deserve it 
Images:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm4.static.flickr.com
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.greenschoolscoalition.org/
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