Eco-friendly back-to-school shopping

There are many ways that you can make eco-friendly choices when going back-to-school shopping this year. Picking recycled, biodegradable and reusable items for your kid's backpack is a great way to start.

One way to stop contributing waste while keeping your child equipped for school is to give your child reusable items for their everyday needs.

• Brown paper bags might seem simple and cheap for transporting a daily lunch; however, over the year, you'll go through hundreds of these.
• Avoid having to cut down trees to hold sandwiches by purchasing a reusable lunch bag for your child. Available in many styles, these bags can be used all year.

Reusable water bottles are also a great way to protect the environment.

• Instead of sending your child to school with a plastic water bottle, invest in a good stainless steel model to ensure that your child drinks enough water every day without waste.
• A bonus is that these bottles do not contain BPA, a chemical which is thought to be harmful to humans.

Another way to be eco-friendly is to purchase recycled items for use in school.

• Many stores carry recycled notebook paper and composition books, which contain some amount of pre- and post-consumer waste.
• Even pencils and pens have gotten in on the act; there are some pens now that are made of recycled plastic water bottles. Pencils can be made from wood scrap or recycled newspaper.

If you're unable to find recycled paper in your local store, there are other options.

• Try looking for paper made with other, more renewable resources.
• These papers can be made from cloth, bamboo or even sugar cane.
• There's no need to waste wood when there are so many other options that are quite a bit more eco-friendly.

While buying brand name, brand new clothing might be the first thing every kid thinks of when it's back-to-school time, there are ways to be eco-friendly.

• Purchasing clothing from thrift stores ensures that you're, in essence, recycling those items and getting new clothes without causing more waste.
• Otherwise, you could try purchasing new clothing that is made without harmful dyes.

There are many ways to make sure back to school is an eco-friendly affair, so take a look at the choices out there and find your way to make the world a better place.