How to bee sustainable with your back to school shopping!

How to bee sustainable with your back to school shopping!

BACK TO SCHOOL

                                          

We’ve said goodbye to beach days, pool parties, and summer vacation; and hello to cozy nights by the fireplace, corn mazes, and packed lunches. School is in full swing so what better time to talk about some simple ways you can make back-to-school more planet-friendly? Check out some of our favourite tips for all you busy bees heading back to school!

Go shopping in your own home

We all do it: we buy the 8-pack of glue sticks on sale only to throw them in the ‘extra school supplies’ bin until next year, then we do it all over again. Before heading to the store, try going shopping in your own home to see what school supplies you already have. You’ll be buying less, spending less, and reducing clutter; a win-win-win!

 

Check out thrift stores

Before going to the mall for a shiny new first-day-of-school outfit, check out your local thrift store. You’d be surprised the treasures you can find second-hand with a little bit of patience! On a similar note, if you need to buy textbooks for your classes, try buying from used bookstores or online buy-and-sell groups. You’re likely to save a few dollars this way too!


Walk, bike or carpool 

If you live close enough to school, try walking or riding to school. If you have friends living in the same neighbourhood, put together a ‘walking bus’ where you take turns with other parents chaperoning a group of kids on their walk or ride to school. If you’re too far to walk, try setting up a carpool with other families in the neighbourhood. You’ll reduce emissions and you’ll be able to take a morning off drop-off duty once in a while. 

 


Pack lunches with planet-friendly, reusable packaging

When shopping for kids’ lunches, try to stay away from pre-packaged snacks. They tend to be wrapped in layers of plastic which you can avoid if you buy in bulk and portion the snacks yourself. Replace single-use snack bags, plastic wrap, cutlery and drink containers with planet-friendly solutions like Nature Bee wraps. Let your kids choose their favourite patterns to make packing lunches fun! Check out our tutorial on how to make a snack bag - they work perfectly for cut-up fruits and veggies!

 

Talk about it with your kids

This might be our most important piece of advice: share your ideas and reasons with your kids so they understand why you’re trying to make going back-to-school more planet-friendly. If you create sustainable habits at a young age they will become second-nature to your kids as they grow up. The kids are our future!


Do you have any favourite back-to-school sustainability tips? Let us know at @naturebeewraps on Instagram by tagging us in your post or story! We LOVE to see the ways you make back-to-school (and daily life) more planet-friendly!

 

Written by: Taylor Lawrence