NEWS: Eco-friendly School Supplies

August 23, 2010
CTV Consumerwatch

Rachael Vickery is getting ready to head back to school this fall.

But, instead of buying new supplies, the eco-conscious university student is going another way.

"I'll try and use old binders, left-over looseleaf, I'll use that (and) try and buy recyclable pens and pencils."

But, some shopper say costs have to be considered as well.

"If the price was fairly comparable, I would probably go for more eco-friendly products," says back-to-school shopper, Adria Baker.

When we looked at Staples, we found prices were quite a bit higher when it came to pencils, as much as 70 cents more for pencils made from trees in sustainable forests and 30 cents more for pens.

But, a Roots binder made from recycled chipboard was actually 13 cents cheaper than the Zwipes plastic and vinyl zip up.

The eco-friendly Post-It option was the same price as the original Post-Its.

Some earth friendly writing pads were only two cents more.

And a flash drive made from bamboo just $2 more than a traditional drive.

Mike Dutka of Staples says, "if you look at most eco friendly products now, they've come down a lot in price in what most people think they would cost and they also have really good quality built into them because people are looking for good quality in eco-responsible products."

A recent poll by Angus Reid and Staples found 94 per cent of its back to school shoppers said they would consider buying more eco-responsible supplies this year.

That's good news to Resource Conservation Manitoba, since it has some real concerns about traditional back to school supplies.

"You think of those typical vinyl binders or vinyl erasers. Those are made with chemicals that emit dangerous gases like VOCs. It's not really healthy for your kids to be exposed to these kinds of things," says RCM's Josh Brandon.

Before taxes, the eco school supplies were four dollars and sixteen cents more than traditional school supplies. But, it's an added cost, consumers like Rachael Vickery are willing to spend to be a little more gentle on the environment.

Greenwashing is big concern. Some companies may use green looking labels to appear as though they are environmentally conscious, but those labels may be misleading.

People need to look for logos like Ecologo, Forrest Stewardship Council and Sustainable Forestry Initiative on products which indicate they are sustainable.

If you don't find any of those, ask your retailer questions about the product and the manufacturer.

More and more companies are aware of Greenwashing and generally don't want to be caught doing it, but only an educated consumer can stop it.

*Products priced out at Staples. They may be cheaper or more expensive at other retailers.

 

Back to NEWS