5 Tips for a More Sustainable School Year

Start the school year right with our five green tips for supporting the environment and cutting costs.

1) A Better “Brown Bag” Lunch

• Pack your children’s lunches in reusable containers and invest in a few reusable water bottles. Fewer bags, disposable containers and plastic water bottles mean less waste that winds up in landfills.
• Ask your kids’ schools to source sustainable foods for cafeteria lunches, including locally grown and Rainforest Alliance Certified™ produce. [Are you a college student? Then check out our resources to help you get Rainforest Alliance Certified goods and services on your campus.]
• Pack fruit and fresh veggies instead of chips – they’re healthy alternatives that save on wasteful packaging and processing.
• If your school has a garden, suggest that they collect organic material and create fertilizer from lunchtime waste.

2) Conscientious Commuting

• Have your kids walk or ride their bikes to school. It’s a great way to reduce carbon emissions from driving while incorporating physical activity into their daily routine.
• If you live too far from the school and walking or biking isn’t an option, consider having your kids take the school bus.
• Is driving a must? Try to arrange a carpool with other parents. Doing so can minimize emissions and gas costs.

3) Recycle, Recycle, Recycle

• Remind your kids to use both sides of the page when they’re writing or printing.
• Choose recycled and/or Forest Stewardship Council/Rainforest Alliance Certified paper for printers, notebooks and other paper needs.
• Recycle paper waste at home, and check to see if your kids’ schools recycle, too.

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In addition to providing educational resources to parents and teachers, the Rainforest Alliance also works to ensure that the children of workers on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms and forests have access to education. [Daisy Akiru, pictured here, attends a school on a Rainforest Alliance Certified tea farm in Kericho, Kenya.

4) Sustainable School Supplies

• Save money (and trees) by purchasing textbooks secondhand.
• Don’t throw away old text books — sell or donate them instead.
• Try to use school supplies from last year; many are probably still perfectly good.
• Purchase refillable pens and pencils.

5) Environmental Education

• For fun and educational games, activities, stories and forest facts, check out the “Kids’ Corner” on the Rainforest Alliance website.
• If your kids love the rainforest, treat them to the Rainforest Survival Challenge, a fun and educational iPad app.
• Tell your kids’ teachers about the Rainforest Alliance’s free curriculum, available for grades K through 8.