Being safe at school now lies in the hands of parents – making sure that we send our precious ones to school with supplies that won’t harm anyone’s health. Aside from lead, one of the worst offenders is PVC and it’s sadly in so many school supplies including clothes, umbrellas and shoes, that its pretty hard to avoid. Why do we need to eschew it? When PVC or vinyl is manufactured or burned, it releases dreaded dioxins, which can cause immune and reproductive problems and cancer. PVC can also leach or release phthalates, lead, and cadmium, which can lead to a plethora of serious health problems. Luckily, its now become easy and fun to find almost everything you need PVC-free. Get your child involved in making the decision to buy responsibly and have them pick out the colors and designs they like best. Check out my favorites below and send your child packing with a clear conscience.
SHOES
I love this year’s Simple shoe designs for kids. All their sneakers are super comfortable and cute. Nike, Asics, Puma, and Birkenstocks are also safe PVC-free choices.
BACKPACKS
You can find quite a few great PVC-free backpacks at Landsend, Jansport and Patagonia. My top fave pick is the “Love” backpack (pictured right). All the DanteBiatrix designs are fabulous and are made from recycled plastic bottles.
GENERAL SUPPLIES
For pencils, paper, binders and just about everything else you need to get started, I highly recommend the Green Apple Earth-friendly school pack from Red Apple Supply. Just visit their website and click on “Green Apple School Supplies”. You can also find a huge selection of Green supplies at Staples and The Office Depot.
CLOTHES AND SMOCKS
Kid’s clothes can contain PVC a host of other undesirable chemicals. For a great selection of totally safe PVC-free clothes, try to get yourself to an H&M store – easy on the wallet too. Make sure you find a PVC-free art smock. I love the Bumkins designs (pictured).
LUNCH BOXES AND DRINKS
Always make sure you look for a PVC and lead-free lunch box. I love the one pictured left, from Cocoozy. Since many juices contain high fructose corn syrup, and even organic juices pack a serious sugar punch, try to stick to good old plain water and send it to school in a BPA-free or stainless steel bottle. I like Camelbak best, as they’re easy to clean. Always use filtered water and in my opinion, the best water filtration system is from LifeSource Water
Sears sells the Eco landsend backpack. It was nice to be able to get one at a local store.