Tips for a sustainable start to school

First school day – savvy purchases.

School bag, pencil case & Co.: To make sure that you do not have to buy something new every year, pay attention – while conserving your resources – to the material’s durability. Nowadays it is possible to find sustainable and fairly produced school rucksacks/school bags, which are made of recycled PET-bottles. It would of course be more sustainable if you were to buy a used school bag but knowing our kids… they will want to have something „special“ for their first day of school.
However, we need an awful lot more than school bags.

Exercise books/notepads: the general rule here is – paper certified for sustainability made 100 % of waste paper, has the lowest impact on the environment. Today eco paper is not even gray anymore. The ink does not run and erasing is possible without any further ado. Terms like „recycling paper“ and „eco paper“ are, however, not protected, which is why you should look out for ecolabels like „Blauer Engel“, „UWS Papier“, „Ökopa plus“, the FSC or the PEFC certificate.

Booklet covers/exercise book covers: to make exercise books last longer, we wrap them in covers. Instead of using plastic. You should use recycled cardboard or natural paper envelopes.

When selecting pencil cases, more often than not we will choose one of colored plastic. It looks good but it is easily broken. Eco-friendly alternatives are available, made of linen or leather.

Crayons can contain toxic substances (among other things heavy metals). So when you are buying pencils, keep your eyes open: for example for crayons of unvarnished wood and for mechanical pencils which last a long time and where the lead can be replaced. Ink pen is also thought to be problematic because of its chemical ingredients. It is also mainly made of plastic an often ends up in the trash. The best you can do, is to do without it altogether.

Pencil sharpeners of wood or metal last forever and are an excellent alternative to plastic.

Erasers of natural rubber and those labelled „PVC-free“ can be purchased without any qualms and the rulers should be of wood.

And now for the most important thing - „snack boxes“/sandwich boxes and drinking bottle for our little ones. Everyone has one. The sandwich box of plastic. Of course, they last forever but a good alternative is a box of stainless steel or bioplastic. Plastic or aluminium foil should be avoided, and we advise using bread cloths to wrap up your children’s snacks. The drinking bottle should be environmentally conscious and made of glass or stainless steel. For the sake of the environment, it makes sense to choose products made from certified wood, recyclable plastic, bioplastics, recycled paper and natural rubber. As you can see there is an ample supply of sustainable and resource-saving products for the start of school – we just have to make a deliberate choice in favor of these products. It goes without saying that we want to make our children’s futures more sustainable – and the kickoff to school is an ideal way to start!