R You Ready For Back To School Season?

We know summer just got good but your little “green beans” will be back in school before you know it. So, we wanted to give you guys a “headstart” on getting them and you prepared for back to school the clean, green way. Many of you are familiar with our 6R’s: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, rebuy, and redeem. It is a great way to REmember how to keep the Planet and you healthy and safe. This is a great way to prepare you, our Perksters, for back-to-school season. R you ready?

REFUSE: Refuse To Buy Non-Eco-Friendly Supplies

Seems extreme but in reality, it’s the best investment in your kids’ future that you could ever imagine. Believe it or not, many products intended for children contain some super toxic ingredients, including school supplies. Asbestos, benzene, chlorine, lead, and phthalates are just a few of the highly toxic chemicals found in children’s school supplies, according to a study by U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S.PIRG). These chemicals can leach out over time and have been known to cause serious health complications which can ultimately effect your child’s growth and development. Eco-friendly products avoid these chemicals, ensuring proper care for the Planet and especially, your “green beans”.

REDUCE: Reduce Single Use & Shopping Abuse

From the classroom to the cafeteria, tons of waste unnecessarily accumulate every day in schools. They are single-use abuse havens. But you can help combat that. Being able to use a product over and over reduces waste easily, and only purchasing items when needed is a huge way to reduce your carbon footprint. Pack stainless steel water bottles in your kid’s lunches instead of juice boxes; use cloth lunch bags and bento boxes that can easily be rinsed and reused; and most importantly, take inventory of the school supplies you already have.

Most of us purchase waaaaaaaay more than what we need because it’s usually on sale during back-to-school season. So, we load up. Heck, I still have loose leaf paper packs and binders from college in an old storage trunk of mine. Chances are, most of us have a junk drawer loaded with pens, pencils, scissors, and other useful school supplies, so why buy more? I mean, how many calculators and rulers does a kid really need anyway? Which leads us to our next back-to-school R: reuse.

REUSE: Reuse School Supplies

Back-to-school season is truly a nostalgic time for most of us. We can all remember the excitement of going school shopping and the anticipation of the first day of school when we get to show off our fresh, new B2S gear. Let’s be honest, cool new backpacks, notebooks, gadgets, and clothes were just as much about self-expression as it was about academic preparedness. But where did all those clothes, supplies, and backpacks from last year go? Most likely, they’re still in your child’s closet and in perfectly good shape. These items can certainly be reused. Remember, waste not, want not.

TIP: If your kid has a basic one-color backpack, add on some pins, buttons, or crafts they’ve made to make it pop and give it style. The best thing about this is, that you can reuse that backpack over and over just by trading out the buttons and patches. Neat, right!?

RECYCLE: Recycle Your Supplies

The very first thing we ever learned about the conservation of the environment was “recycling”. Recycling allows us to repurpose materials into something new and useful. It eliminates one-time use products that can end up in landfills, and we all know how bad that is for the Planet. Almost everything can be recycled in some way or another, and school supplies are no exception. Here are a few ideas you can use to recycle and repurpose those old school items into new school tools.

Upcycle Clothing

> Take an old pair of your kid’s pants and let them color, paint or design what they’d like on them. Show off their creative side!

Thrift

> Donate your kid’s old clothes to local thrift stores and purchase their new clothes there as well! Try places like the Hope House Foundation Thrift Store and get $5 off your purchase when you redeem your points. You can even make this back-to-school task even more fun and have a clothes swap party with family, friends & neighbors.

Purchase Refurbished Electronics

> Buying “like new” or refurbished electronics is a greener option requiring less raw materials that rob the Planet than buying new items. So, save your money and the Planet. Did somebody say WIN! WIN, WIN, WIN, WIN?

REBUY: Rebuy Recycled Items

One way to definitely make change is with your dollars. Rebuying or buying items made from recycled materials closes the loop. The more items we buy that are made with recycled materials, the less raw materials have to be ripped from the Earth. This definitely helps reduce our carbon footprint and could possibly get the attention of more manufacturers to take action so that natural resources aren’t destroyed. Check the labels on your products and supplies at home. Are they made with recycled materials? Help close the loop!

REDEEM: Redeem Your Points

Last but not least, redeem your points! EnviroPerks was created to give you more incentive to be green by saving green, so log in to your EnviroPerks account now and check out the incredible rewards that will help you save money and the Planet. Here’s a list of popular back-to-school items that you can safely purchase if you need to, and that are good for your children and the planet.

ENVIROPERKS PICKS

We have been fortunate enough to partner with some incredible companies like EarthHero, Hamilton Perkins Collection, Beego Handmade, and Eco Maniac Company! But it doesn’t stop there, Perksters. With Perks +, you get access to even more sensational savings! Below are our top ten earth- and kid-friendly back-to-school picks from some of our most trusted brands. Don’t forget to redeem your reward to take advantage of additional savings!

This post contains affiliate links and we will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through these links.

J's Article Image 2 Jammica Boone is a writer and content creator for EnviroPerks

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