Keep cool with back to school

Not to mention the back-to-school shop, with countless hours spent surveying the stationery aisles to pick the perfect pencil case.

It’s time to get into the sustainable school spirit…

Don’t worry, this isn’t the brain-baffling-algebra-of-nightmares type of homework.

Instead, we’re setting you the challenge of digging out all the school supplies you can find at home – half-filled notebooks, pencils, older siblings’ textbooks, old lunch boxes, or schoolbags that need a bit of sprucing up, that kind of thing.

Once you’ve discovered all the supplies you already have, now’s the time to write a list of things that you need to buy. Writing a list will help you stick to buying only what’s needed, making it easier to avoid succumbing to pleas for those pretty, but impossible to read, coloured glitter pens.

If you do find that you need to buy new, look for school stationery in minimal packaging, made from recycled or sustainable materials that are durable enough to withstand rough and tumble school days.

If you need to buy new, look for school stationery in minimal packaging, made from recycled or sustainable materials that are durable enough to withstand rough and tumble school days. #BackToSchool #HowToWasteLess

Picking out new school stuff is always the highlight of the new school year. Let’s face it who, as an adult, hasn’t gotten excited about a trip to the office stationery cupboard at one time or another?

Your kids might be keen to hit the shops, but this is a great opportunity to teach them about the importance of using what we already have.

Four-fifths of the carbon footprint generated by Scotland comes from the products and materials we use so being able to reduce, reuse and repair will go a long way towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

Take an old backpack for example. A few fun patches or decorative stitching can make it feel brand new and, by personalising it themselves, they can feel more attached to it and more likely to look after it in the longer term.

Scraps of paper could be stapled together to create notepads, while used ring binders could be covered with leftover wrapping or wallpaper.

Picking out new school stuff is always the highlight of the new school year. Let’s face it who, as an adult, hasn’t gotten excited about a trip to the office stationery cupboard at one time or another?

Your kids might be keen to hit the shops, but this is a great opportunity to teach them about the importance of using what we already have.

Four-fifths of the carbon footprint generated by Scotland comes from the products and materials we use so being able to reduce, reuse and repair will go a long way towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

Take an old backpack for example. A few fun patches or decorative stitching can make it feel brand new and, by personalising it themselves, they can feel more attached to it and more likely to look after it in the longer term.

Scraps of paper could be stapled together to create notepads, while used ring binders could be covered with leftover wrapping or wallpaper.