Eco is Cool

The beginning of a new school year always heralds shopping. While entering school with fashionable pencil pouches may make you feel special, there’s an easier and cheaper way to be unique: Go green.

Here is a summary of tips of all sizes you can do in order to be more eco-friendly. 

Reducing Supplies

Paper:

Most households are filled with paper, whether from past school years or mail. Make it an ideal to use both sides of the paper you get. Sources include: last years printouts/graded papers/mail. A wonderful tool called the hole punch makes them unitable in the binder. 

Some assignments just call for blank or lined, regal paper. Your local Chapters will sell 100% recycled lined paper, and the fabulous Ecojot. Colourful, fun, and friendly, these notebooks will spark any child’s imagination.

Just remember: paper has two sides.  

Writing utensils:

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. In that order, scour your house for pens and pencil. It’s likely that, like with the paper, you have an abundance of those useful sticks! Invest in a good sharper or use the school’s sharpener. When you’ve run out, buy some recycled paper pencils, such as Greencils, Papermate green pencils, just to name a few…

Because pens are made from plastic, they’re not a great choice for anything other than assignments that demand them and cheques. When your house’s stock is empy, refill with eco-friendly pens (you can find these at Chapters etc.) 

 Binders: 

Make your binder have a long life. Be nice to it, gluegun the broken parts, and when its life is over, reuse the cardboard insert for a craft, and the binder ring for a jewelry/scarf holder. Just bolt it to the wall. 

In the end, you can buy much greener binders such as ReBinder. Rebinder’s products are made from recycled chipboard, and look it, too. Their binder rings can also be reused with new chipboard casings. They are a truly unique and friendly for all. 

Trends:

Accessories to me seem like a easy place to be more earth friendly. Not only are plastic bangles hard, they don’t have the same easy feel cardboard does…therefore cereal box cardboard, woven, make great bangles. Handmade, they make a commited statement. You can spend a ridiculous amount of money buying accessories for lockers…or you can make them yourself. Buy a roll of magnetic tape. It will turn a CD into a mirror, old paper protectors (with a sheet inside) into whiteboard. 

Projects:

Special paper isn’t usually needed. You can create great cards for your friend’s birthdays or trim posters by using colourful flyers. You can also reuse posterboards, as likely posters will be thrown out after made. Believe it or not, you can make your own glue, too-add vinegar to milk, strain out the whey, and add baking soda. 

Small differences

Writing lists on scrap paper.

Less shopping, no plastic bags. Making sure all those plastic bag are reused beyond fix before hauling in the most fashionable reusable bags on the market.  

Then reuse the bags to stuff flipflops, body pillows…Reusing otherwise thrown away items to spark the creative spirit. Making your own photo album, notebook….Going green is a fun, organic way of living that doesn’t restrict but open up.

Shopping for green isn’t the solution-you’re just creating more waste by throwing away old plastic binders and pens. As an end note, always reduce!