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You can go green for school supplies

Emily Stephens, 8th Grade, Mountainside Middle School and Autumn Plumbo, 7th Grade, Sacajawea Middle School
August 31, 2008

With reports saying the environment is going to the dogs, it's important to be green while going back to school.

And because everyone is busy, we did some shopping for you to suggest some eco-friendly products and tips to help you out.

Pencils: MEGA Brands, Inc., $1.79 for 5, Target

"SRX Green" line pencils are recycled from denim and newspaper. After all, who doesn't want to wear their jeans and write with them, too?

Notebooks: Greenroom Eco, $2.49-$4.99, Target

100 percent recycled paper: 30 percent post-consumer (previously used business or consumer products). A basic, cheap notebook for all your school-time needs. The Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper, $10.99-$12.99, Journals, notebooks and stationery made from recycled elephant dung. www.poopoopaper.com. You can pass notes with paper and you can text notes with your cell phone, but only with this product can you pass notes with elephant poop. Be sure to visit their Web site to find out how this fascinating paper is made.

Various supplies: TerraCycle, Inc., Various prices.

Target: Pencil cases, backpacks, folders and lunch boxes that are 100 percent from used drink pouches. Plus, two cents is donated to a local charity for every donated juice box.

Backpacks: Hemp Sisters, $27.99-$63.99, www.hemp-sisters.com. 100 percent hemp backpacks. Hemp has nutritional value, so the next time you forget your lunch money, just eat your backpack instead.

EcoGear/EcoTech: Various prices, www.ecogear-products.com. A wide variety of prices made from organic cotton, nontoxic dyes and sustainable wood components. With this stylish bag in multiple colors, saving the environment really is "in the bag."

Post-It: $19.99, 100 percent recycled post-it notes, 30 percent post-consumer. It might be more expensive than non-eco-friendly Post-its, but it's more important to be green.

Lunch: For locally grown, environmentally-friendly cold lunch food, try the Spokane Farmer's Market, located at 2nd and Division, every Saturday (May 10 – Oct. 25) and Wednesday (June 4 – Oct. 29), 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Refrain from using brown bags when packing your lunch. Instead, try one of the TerraCycle lunch boxes made from recycled juice pouches.

How to know (based on "Sorting Out 'Green' Advertising Claims" from the Federal Trade Commission):

• Specific green information should be clearly stated on the product: "Made from 100 percent recycled paper" rather than just "environmentally friendly."

• A recycled product should say whether it is made of post-consumer or pre-consumer materials (manufactured waste such as the tabs off envelopes or paper scraps).

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