It’s August, again! Which means two things: it’s brutally hot outside and we’re all gearing up for back to school! Whether you are ready to kick the kids out or wanting to soak up every last moment you have with them before that first school bell rings, we hope that you made some great memories this Summer and enjoyed it! If back to school feels like a speed bump on your sustainability journey, fret not. We’re here to offer a few earth-friendly ways you can approach this school year!

Intentionality with buying backpacks and lunchboxes

One of our favorite brands is Cotopaxi, not only for their cute apparel, but for how they work so hard to stitch sustainability into every one of their products! Cotopaxi backpacks and lunch boxes are made ethically and from recycled materials. Their entire Del Día collection is designated to using high-quality deadstock fabric that might have otherwise ended up in the landfill, making each pack one-of-a-kind. The Cotopaxi Kid’s Dimi 12L Backpack or the Botana 6L Lunch Bag would both be put to great use this school year, and you can rest easy knowing that your gear is for the greater good!

Pack a lunch, save a tree

Back to school is snack-packing season! One of the easiest kitchen swaps you can make is ditching the single-use plastic sandwich baggies for Lunchskins recyclable and/or compostable bags! Lunchskins are eco-disposable self-sealing sandwich bags you can feel good about using! For the paper sandwich bags, remove the self-adhesive closure strip to seal in freshness. These durable & naturally grease-resistant paper bags are recyclable + sealable. And now Lunchskins is offering compostable sandwich zipper bags! Perfect for: sandwiches, snacks, treats, and much more while you’re packing lunch this school year. Use it at home or on the go for your kiddo, everyone wins, especially the trees! And as part of the 1% for the Planet, Lunchskins gives back 1% of every order to nonprofits working to help the planet!

A water bottle they’re excited to drink from

Have a hard time getting your kid to drink water? Introduce them to any of Klean Kanteen’s recycled stainless steel water bottles! Klean Kanteen has made the pledge to utilize recycled steel and now 95% of their products are made from recycled materials. This change alone has dropped their raw material emission by 35% and lowered their overall carbon footprint! Every time you make a purchase from Klean they invest 1% of the sale into organizations working hard to make the world a better place. Through their 1% for the Planet membership their customer community has allowed them to donate over 4.3 million dollars to organizations doing significant work in key areas of focus: plastic pollution,consumer products, conservation and climate, and outdoor stewardship. Klean Kanteen is also a certified B Corp; they're part of a movement of more than 6,000 global companies that meet high standards of social and environmental transparency, accountability, and performance. Redefining how business should be done!

Moral of the story, your kiddo will love their Klean Kanteen water bottle, and you’ll feel good about it too! Their water bottles are BPA free, dishwasher safe, lightweight and tough enough to get through the school year!

Leave no trace

One of the best things we can teach our kiddos is how simple it can be for us to do our part! It can be as simple as picking up their trash, or any trash they may find! Teaching our kids from a young age how detrimental trash and pollution is to our environment, inherently teaches them to respect our planet. And how one small action can make a big impact! Pack in, pack out, leave no trace!

Sustainable school supplies

For parents on their sustainability journey, sometimes back to school can feel daunting.School supplies more often than not means plastic packaging and excessive landfill-bound waste. But, when we choose eco-friendly school supplies like pencils and notebooks made from recycled materials, we help cut down on waste, save resources like trees and water and even make sure we don't leave a big 'ol carbon footprint behind.

Be Kind

Last, but certainly not least, one of the best things we can send our kids off with in the start of the new school year, is heart full of kindness. Remind them to treat others the way they want to be treated. Remind them that if a joke makes fun of someone, than it’s not funny. If a game excludes someone, than it’s not a game. If a prank hurts someone, than it’s not amusing. If a conversation talks about someone who isn’t present, it’s not appropriate. Tell them to enjoy time with their friends and remember to extend an invite to the kid that is eating lunch alone. Encourage them to radiate the good and set the example!

If going back to school makes your sustainability journey feel impossible, we hope these ideas offer a little peace of mind! Even small changes can have big impacts. We hope you have a great school year!