Planning your sustainable back-to-school journey starts long before the school year. Taking the time to think through your plan is one of the best ways of being more sustainable. It takes some time, but it’s worth it.

In this post, I lay out seven simple steps to planning a more sustainable back-to-school for you and your family. 

1. Talk it out 

As you move towards greener and more ethical choices, this might mean changes for your family. It’s helpful to have the conversation with your children up front, sharing your choices and the motivations behind them.

But this doesn’t have to be preachy, boring or awkward! Talking about the things we all love – like animals, oceans, and forests – and sharing how your choices are helping keep them happy can make it a fun conversation. It will also help keep your joint motivation going, as you can reflect back on how you’re choices are helping others.

Your ethical journey is one that the whole family can take. If you’re on the journey to a sustainable back-to-school together, you’re bound to complete it.

2. Think about the commute 

How you get to school is just as important as what you and your children do, wear, and use there. If you are used to driving to school, could you carpool with neighbours? This not only saves carbon emissions, it also saves money and offers an opportunity to connect with other children and families.

If you want to go completely car-free, look into public transport in your community. Do you feel confident sending your child on the bus? If so, this might be the year to do it. 

If it’s the fresh air you’re after (in many ways!), then walking or cycling is perfect. This won’t be possible or right for every family, and it might not happen every day. But even taking the trainers rather than the car one day a week could cut your carbon output. For every litre of petrol you save, you are preventing 2.3 kg of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. 

Top tip: Make it fun! Set challenges to achieve a better commute or treat yourself on the way. For every 10 times you cycle to school, why not treat your family to a movie night with all the trimmings? Or maybe on days you walk home from school, your kids can push their bedtime by 15 minutes. It’s about small steps, simple rewards, and doing it together.

3. Say YES to ethical school uniforms 

Buying more ethical school uniforms can be tricky, but it’s a great way to have a more sustainable back-to-school. 

The apparel industry is responsible for 10% of carbon emissions and the cotton needed for a single t-shirt uses as much water as running your washing machine 50 times!

The industry continues to struggle with transparency, gender equality, and fair treatment of workers, too. For instance, only 5% of companies assessed in a 2019 report could demonstrate paying a living wage to all workers at final stage facilities.

When buying your child’s school uniform, try to find the most ethical and sustainable retailer, even if this just means buying the best of the worst. Websites like Ethical Consumer (subscription service) provide the latest information on the ethics of retailers. The app Good on You also provides information on the sustainable and ethical practices behind your favourite stores.

If you have to buy branded uniforms, or if you want to take the extra step on improving the ethics of the industry, consider joining a campaign or writing to the companies that make your child’s uniform. 

Don’t forget – if you’re struggling with the cost of uniforms, the Government or your school can help.

4. …and go green for everything else, too!

As with school uniforms, purchasing greener and more ethical supplies – like shoes, rucksacks, and stationery – is a great way to have a more sustainable back-to-school. Here are a few ways to buy better.

1. Buy secondhand. Kids grow fast – that’s a fact. It can be expensive and unrealistic to buy new, ethical and sustainable clothes and shoes every time a growth spurt hits. Instead, consider looking at secondhand options. Whether in store or online, this is a great way to save money and the earth.
   
   
2. Shop more ethical. Vote with your wallet and demand a more sustainable back-to-school. Choose companies that rank higher on the ethical and sustainable scale, even if they’re high street retailers. The Good on You app and Ethical Consumer site mentioned above are both great options for making informed choices. And don’t forget – you can always use emails or social media to call on companies to improve their practices.
   
   
3. Go for ethical and sustainable brands. If you’re ready to invest or just have a bit more cash at hand, shopping from ethical and sustainable shops is a great option. I’ve listed a few shop suggestions below to help you get started.

Shoes	Art supplies/stationery	Accessories	Rucksacks
La Coqueta Vivobarefoot	Remarkable Wearth	Babipur Ethical Superstore	Patagonia  Fjallraven

5. Take the lunchtime challenge

A great way to reduce your carbon footprint and have a more sustainable back to school is to eat more green – literally. Our World in Data found that for every 1 kg of beef (beef herd) food product produced, 60 kg of carbon are put into the atmosphere. In fact, most meat products are high up there on the carbon-producing scale. 

There are lots of delicious ways to eat less meat. Try a nut-butter sandwich (if your child’s school allows it) with in season apples and homemade biscuits; a yummy hummus and veggie sandwich with carrot sticks and a homemade flapjack, or switch it up with a fruit salad, almonds and a non-dairy yogurt. 

Try out a few different things to find out what your children like most, and then stick to successful combinations. You never know, it might end up being their favourite day of the week! 

Top tip: it might be easiest to prep these lunches on Sunday evening, as they take a bit more time to prepare. A perfect way to maximise meat-free Mondays!

6. Go clubbing 

If you’re lucky enough to have a bit of extra time on weekdays, consider starting or supporting a sustainability club at your child’s school. This doesn’t mean a series of boring lectures! It could be as fun as gardening, vegan baking, upcycling, sewing, or sustainable fashion. 

If your children are old enough to start their own club at school and show an interest, you can support them in these efforts, too. 

Fostering a love of all things ethical, with an understanding that these choices are for everyone, is important for making sustainable living more, well, sustainable!

7. Get ahead 

I find that the moment when sustainability goes out the window is when I’m in a hurry. When it’s the 11th hour and I’ve forgotten it’s my sister’s birthday, you know she’s getting whatever I can find on Amazon.

The same is true for those fun, but sometimes stressful, school events that pop up every year.

Planning ahead can help make these events a little easier to do ethically. Think about Book Day (4 March) – could you start planning your child’s outfit early and get everything in charity shops? Or what about presents for teachers – could you do a bulk online ethical order now while you remember, and just have these ready for the end of the year? It not only saves time, but also a lot of stress! 

There’s also the question of gifts for other children in your child’s class. If you have a small class or a tight knit group of parents, could you discuss presents now and set different expectations? Maybe you could join forces with other parents and got one bigger, more meaningful gift for each child’s birthday?

Getting ahead prevents the rush to the shop to pick up whatever you can find. This means you have the time and energy to make more ethical and sustainable choices.

What next?

Get planning and shopping for a more sustainable back-to-school! I hope these tips have helped set you on the right path. 

As always, it’s about doing the best you can, not the best ever. Taking even one of these steps is a big leap in the right direction for a more ethical school year.