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Back to School Green Tips Part Three – Clothes
Posted by: | CommentsWelcome to the third and final installment in our three part series of back to school green tips that will help you make this school year a little more eco-friendly. Our previous green tips covered school supplies and school lunches, so let’s move on to wardrobes.
organic cotton shirt on sale $11 at planetforward.ca
When it comes to clothing, there are many ways you can add to your green lifestyle. These green tips include sustainable solutions that are not only eco-friendly, but budget-friendly:
- Host a Swap. We posted a detailed article on how to host a swap, not long ago. Basically gather friends who have children both older and younger than yours and trade gently used clothing. This is also fun for teens to do with their friends. Not to mention it is a great way to trade sports equipment, if your kid just decided they want to jump into hockey, football etc… see if any friends have equipment their size from when their children played.
- Hand-me-downs. Recycle clothing through your kids’ closets. Not to mention mom or dad may have some great basics to pass on to teens and young adults.
- Look for clothes made of organic cotton and other fibers. Even at large retail chains or big box stores you can find organic lines. These clothes not only have few to no chemicals in them, but are better for the environment. You can even check out Planet Forward’s cute and affordable organic fashions.
- Thrift stores. These are great not only for the little ones, but also high school and university students. You’ll find everything from basics to vintage and can express your individual style for a fraction of the cost.
- Donate old clothes. After taking inventory and cleaning out a closet, donate old clothes. You can bring them to local clothing drives and thrift stores. This not only makes your child aware of what they have, but it will help someone else as well. Not to mention if frees up much needed closet space. You can even call your church and see if any families in need require clothing.
- Footwear. You can purchase shoes that give back like TOMS shoes one-for-one policy where they give a pair of shoes away to someone in need for every pair purchased. If you need a pair of running shoes try to find an eco-friendly brand.
- Eyewear. Check out warbyparker.com. Not only do they create stylish and affordable frames you can try on virtually, but they also donate one pair to someone in need for every pair purchased.
- Uniforms. If your child goes to a uniform school and has outgrown their clothing see if the school has a donation program. This way kids that can’t afford to buy new uniform pieces can get what they need.
These back to school green tips for clothing can help you and your family save a little money, help the environment, even help support a good cause, while looking great. Remember to be creative when it comes to where to look for new school clothes. Also, as pointed out in the first green tip, these are also great ways to help find sports equipment for your kids that won’t cost you an arm and a leg. Think outside the box…the big box stores that is. Good luck this school year.
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Posted by: | CommentsHello and welcome (back) to the Planet Forward blog and to the latest entry in my virtual organic gardening journal on this fine Friday here in the Greater Toronto Area. Summer is passing so fast but luckily there have not been any more signs of lightning striking anything as I reported in my previous post.
Lettuce photo courtesy of momgoesgreen.com
You’ve probably gotten to the point in your gardening season where your lettuce is going to seed. The plants have become tall, the base spindly, and flowers are blooming at the top of them—not a good sign. It’s time to rip those plants out – there is just no nice way of putting it. You are going to have to pull those lettuce plants right out by the root. That’s what I did. I went into the garden with my trusty spade and pulled out about a third of my lettuce patch at a time. I went with a third because it takes some time to clean the plants which can be time-consuming as you have to pick off all of the good lettuce leaves individually and compost the other leaves and stock. I filled a shopping bag and a half with viable leaves by the time I had pulled out all of the plants. I left the leaves to soak in cold water in my sink and headed back outside to deal with the garden real estate now left empty with the removal of the lettuce plants.
I decided to plant more lettuce seeds. You might think it’s wrong to sow seeds directly into the ground in August and expect to get lettuce from it but that is exactly what will happen. On the back of any package of lettuce seeds you will see different information about planting and harvesting. All of them say that you can directly sow seeds in August. I’m not just going from the package’s instructions, but also on experience as I do this every year. Even though you can have many cuttings of certain lettuces, eventually the lettuce will become tough or plants will go to seed—at that time they are no longer going to produce good leaves. I decided to plant two rows of seeds – one Mesclun or Spring Mix and the other was a variety known as Boston or Butter lettuce. In approximately one week, I began to see little green sprouts. Within one to two more weeks I should have lettuce I can cut. When you plant lettuce you should weed the area well because you won’t be able to weed again until the plants are larger for fear of pulling out a plant. Now you can enjoy fresh from the garden salads well into September (weather permitting).
Enjoy these last few weeks of organic gardening. I know I will. Please share your experiences of this past season as well as tips and ideas for the months ahead. Happy Gardening and don’t forget to eat seasonal produce and support your local farmers.
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Welcome back for part two of our three part series of back to school green tips that will help you make this school year a little more eco-friendly. When starting a new school year you are given a fresh start and can break old habits. One of the worst offenders for school waste is lunches. The average American school-age child throws away 67 pounds of packaging a year including plastic water bottles, sandwich baggies, and juice boxes. With the population of kids in the US alone accounting for over 70 million, that’s over 4.6 trillion pounds of packaging.
Here are some simple and easy green tips that will help you reduce landfill waste and the carbon footprint of your kid’s lunch:
- Pack a lunch. This is a great tip especially for older kids. Instead of eating unhealthy cafeteria food, bring lunch with you. This way kids can eat something nutritious that they will enjoy. Not to mention there will be less waste, as there will not be a paper plate, disposable fork, or plastic drink bottle.
Reusable bottles. Theses don’t have to be boring, just look at our line of stainless steel bottles which give you sizes and rainbow of colors to choose from. Not to mention they’re on sale and currently range in price from $7-$10. By switching to reusable stainless steel bottles you can buy your family’s favorite drinks in bulk and refill the bottles. By purchasing one large container of sports drink you are saving money and putting less plastic in landfills, by not buying a case of individual bottles. Not to mention kids can refill these sustainable bottles at school water fountains rather than purchasing another drink.- Reusable lunch bags. Switching to a reusable lunch box (like Planet Forward’s Urban Epicurean currently half-price at $7.50CAD) instead of plastic or paper bag you are cutting down on waste.
- Food storage containers. Don’t pack your child’s sandwich in a plastic baggie or wrap it in wax paper, it’s just making waste. If you buy appropriate Tupperware you can drastically reduce the carbon footprint of their lunch. Think of it this way, if you put their sandwich in a plastic bag everyday, you could be putting approximately 200 of those bags in landfills—not to mention snacks. Buy smaller containers for snacks. Even if you want to send them to school with cookies or some other little treat, don’t buy the individual bags, buy a large bag and just fill a little container. These tips will reduce your shopping list, save you money, and help the environment.
- Reusable cutlery. You can purchase sets of sturdy plastic cutlery, which come in a little carrier box. That way kids can bring anything they like to school with them for lunch and you won’t have to keep disposable cutlery in the house.
- Stock up on organic and/or locally grown in-season produce. Everyone knows the benefits of organic foods. However, by buying local and in-season you will also be reducing your food costs and carbon footprint.
- Fruits that come in “wrappers.” By purchasing foods like a bananas or apples you don’t need to find a way to wrap them up…they are the ideal zero waste food for lunches.
Hopefully these back to school green tips will help you and your family rethink how lunches are packed. These may seem like simple, common sense ideas, because they are. Just remember KISS when packing a lunch Keep It Simply Sustainable.
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