Shopping for Back to School Can Be a Fun and Teachable Moment on Conservation Practices To Protect Our Planet
This time of year is the high point of retail shopping — a spending tradition of enticing back to school purchases for new supplies and clothes to make sure kids have what they need to start the year. This week specifically is the push for product sales with tax free incentives and shopping promotions!
Instead of rushing to the stores, how about thinking of this time as an opportunity to do some spring cleaning for school before we add more costs to our wallets and the planet. Start your shopping at home — this free exercise can be a teachable moment for your kids that reusing or donating clothes and supplies is a meaningful way to support our surrounding community and keep unnecessary waste from landfills.
As busy as back to school preparations can be, these tips during the last few weeks of summer can simplify and save you time and money throughout the year:
- Write down a list of all of your NEEDS for back to school – this will help to uncover what you already have at home and not overbuy at the store
- Many items like pens, pencils, backpacks, and notebooks can easily be reused for another year. If a restock is necessary, look for environmentally friendly products and packaging (there are plenty of online eco-friendly school supplies)
- Take a visit to your local thrift store! For a fraction of the cost of school supplies, you can purchase binders, notebooks, folders, pencils, and pencil pouches there. To come full circle, at the end of the school year, the thrift store versus the trash can also be one place you donate extra supplies.
- Inventory back to school wear including clothes, shoes and backpacks. Can any items be passed down to siblings, cousins or friends? Create piles for 1) Back into the closest for another season 2) Regifting to others 3) Donating to textile bins around Wilton (Wilton Congregational Church, Miller-Driscoll, Cider Mill and Wilton High School for Bay State Textile and the Wilton Transfer Station and Trackside Teen Center for USAgain. In Wilton, you can donate or consign items to The Turnover Shop which in turn returns its profits back into our community.
- Before heading out to buy accessories for lunch time, consider moving away from single use items and replacing them with reusable ones. Lunchboxes, reusable water bottles and containers for food/snacks may be more of an investment upfront but can be used over and over for years. Visit xxxx for back to school sustainable items.
- Picking out a new outfit for the first day of school can always be exciting. If it’s time to buy brand new, consider buying with companies that have sustainable business practices. There are also plenty of slightly used clothes for purchase with less wear and tear for our planet. Check out our Sustainability in Fashion webpage.
- A few examples of where to shop online and in person include:
- FB Tag Sale and Buy Nothing Pages
- The Turnover Shop in Wilton
- Loop de Loop Kids and Maternity Consignment shop in Wilton
- ThredUP
- DePop
- Poshmark
A resource guide has been created to answer any questions you may have on where donations can be made for school spring cleaning as well as recycling at home throughout the year. Visit www.wiltongogreen.org/fairfield-county-donation-guide/ to learn more.
Any small steps that we take can become formidable habits that will support our community and our planet. Let’s take this time during back to school to teach and learn behaviors that create a lifetime of sustainable living!