5+ Affordable and Eco-Friendly Back To School Buys
School’s back in session in most parts of the world now, but as we parents are all collectively scrambling to get our kids ready for the new school year, I thought it would be helpful to share some of my own favorite eco-friendly school supplies and sustainable back to school tips. Even if you’ve already bought your kids’ supplies for the year, things inevitably break (especially when they’re made from plastic or a synthetic fabric). So you may find yourself on the hunt once again for school essentials. It’s been my experience that when you buy eco-friendly back to school items made from sustainable materials like steel and natural fibers, they tend to last far longer than their plastic counterpart and save you money in the long run.
Here are my favorite eco-friendly back to school ideas that are a great purchase for any time during the year!
#1 – A sturdy, steel lunchbox
I recently saw a mom post in a parenting group that she needed to buy yet another lunch box because her kids destroy theirs every year. She’s been buying new lunchboxes for five years straight! Meanwhile, my son has been using the same metal PlanetBox lunchbox for 5 years and it’s still in great condition. There are several companies now that make steel lunchboxes, but PlanetBox was I believe the first and also the best.
Because it’s steel, it’s incredibly durable.
Better yet, this bento-style box comes in three sizes and is dishwasher safe! The carrying case has gotten beat up over the years I will admit, as my son tends to throw it and drag it on the ground. But it’s never broken a zipper or ripped a seam. Not once!
You can use magnets to personalize the look of the lunchbox. PlanetBox offers one free set with each lunchbox purchase, and you can either buy more from them, or use your own! It also comes with two small containers you can insert into the lunchbox, for wet foods so they don’t leak.
While metal lunchboxes are probably pricier than a plastic lunchbox in the short term, if you’re having to replace that plastic one every year for multiple years, the cost adds up to more than your metal lunchbox investment! That, plus the landfill waste created by trashed broken lunch containers, makes a metal lunchbox both eco-friendly and wallet-friendly!
By the way, this post contains Amazon Affiliate links and other affiliate links, which cost you absolutely nothing to click on but could help me earn a small commission to pay for my website expenses. For more on how this works, click here.
#2 – Insulated metal water bottle
There are so many advantages to using metal water bottles instead of plastic. Especially living here in Southern California where we have hot sunny days throughout the school year, it’s nice to have something cool to drink. Drop a couple ice cubes in your child’s insulated metal water bottle, and it’ll stay cold all day long, even if their backpacks are kept on racks outside in the sun all morning!
You may have also heard about the danger of plastic leaching into water over time?
This is another reason to choose a metal bottle, especially living here in Southern California where temperatures regularly hit 80 and above throughout the year. Unfortunately, many schools here require their students to keep their lunchboxes outside the classrooms in direct sunlight!
We use Thermos brand Foogo metal water bottles for our kids. They last FOREVER if you take good care of them. You can also buy replacement caps and straw parts to extend their life. We have had the same bottles for 6+ years now! Now THAT’s an affordable eco-friendly back to school purchase.
#3 – Play clothes that are gently used or made from fair trade and natural materials
Our preschool has a wonderful play-based educational philosophy where they allow the kids to experiment with paint, clay, dirt, sand, etc. You name it, they play in it! They also let the kids serve themselves food during communal snack time. All of this results in their clothes typically getting lots of abuse every single day. While I don’t stress too much about stains thanks to this awesome eco-friendly stain remover spray, I also don’t love sending my kids to school in nice new clothes that will quickly lose their sheen as a result.
Here are three ways I find gently-used play clothes for my kids:
- Local resale groups on facebook
- Friends with hand-me-downs
- Children’s consignment shops
This is a great way to save money on clothes that are going to get destroyed at school anyway, and also be kind to the planet. By reusing, you’re keeping the clothes out of the landfill for at least one more cycle.
If you need to purchase brand new clothing, which I do understand everyone needs from time to time, focus on buying fair-trade and natural materials.
That means, read labels and avoid material names like “polyester” and “rayon.”
These man-made fabrics are actually plastic derivatives, and are responsible for the micro-plastics pollution that’s happening in our oceans right now.
Plastic-based fabrics also tend to pill up and fall apart quicker than natural fibers (thus all the micro-plastics in the ocean). So – if you’d like your clothing to last longer – buy cotton, wool, silk, and linen!
While natural fabrics may be pricer at first glance than their plastic-based alternatives, you end up saving money in the end due to their durability and resale value. You also help save the planet from plastic pollution, which is truly priceless!
And yes it IS possible to find affordable eco-friendly back to school clothing in retail stores. H&M has an entire clothing line called Conscious that is made with organic cotton. Hanna Andersson now has an exclusive brand for Amazon.com called Moon And Back featuring clothing made from organic cotton up to size 5T. And Carters also offers organic children’s clothing under the label Little Planet on their website. We love their organic cotton pajamas!
Another brand I love is BeyaMade, which makes adorable kids clothing from leftover textiles that are designed to grow with your child and thus last 3 times as long as traditionally sized clothing! This is accomplished through details like clever roll-up sleeves and snap closures, which allow the clothing to literally get bigger as your child does too.
#4 – Sturdy sneakers with real rubber soles
Ever notice how your feet hurt way more when you wear cheap shoes? And they fall apart quicker? That’s because you get what you pay for, and cheap shoes are usually made from cheap, plastic-based materials.
While I understand that kids feet grow super fast, I also think their comfort is key to a happy day.
So my philosophy is to buy a couple pairs of really good quality shoes made from plastic-free materials that will survive the playground and also be comfortable for them! A while back here, I wrote a post about TOMS Shoes, a B Corp that donates a pair of their canvas/rubber-soled shoes for every pair that you purchase. They make great kids shoes in many styles and patterns. And you can feel good about supporting a company that is also doing good in the world.
Here are some other eco-friendly shoe options to consider along with TOMS:
Livie & Luca – 100% leather/wool uppers and rubber soles
KEEN – sustainably-made shoes
OluKai – B Corp that makes excellent sandals (click here to read my post that mentions the pair we got at Disney’s Aulani Resort)
My kids wear these brands and they have outlasted all the others. They also have great resale value because of the high quality of the materials and design. Again, may cost a bit more to buy them new than a cheaper plastic alternative, but so much better in the long run both for your wallet and your kids’ feet!
#5 – Reusable sandwich bags and compostable lunch sacks
One of the most popular posts I’ve ever written is this one all about my favorite reusable sandwich bags and compostable lunch sacks. We’ve got a few different favorites that we use in our house, so be sure to check out that post for specific recommendations.
Like metal lunchboxes, reusable sandwich bags may appear to cost more than their plastic alternatives. But over time – and you will be making MANY lunches for your kids over the years – these reusable sandwich bags end up costing you less than buying boxes and boxes of plastic sandwich baggies. And compostable paper lunch bags are very competitively priced as well.
Another benefit to using washable sandwich bags? It’ll help teach your kids responsibility.
Instead of just throwing them out in the trash every day after lunch, they’ll learn to throw them in their backpack and bring home to you. Even my son who can be super forgetful and careless managed to bring his reusable sandwich bags home every day of Kindergarten and 1st grade.
It helps that they come in a variety of colors and patterns, and you can write their names on the outside, so they aren’t easily misplaced or mistaken for someone else’s.
For more green back to school tips, check out this post written by a colleague of mine at the Orange County Moms Blog. And let me know in the comments how you are being more eco-friendly this school year!
