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Shopping for back to school clothes can be a major event. Here are a few tips to green your child’s wardrobe:

• Bring your own bag when you shop. BYOB is not just for groceries.
• Reduce your consumption of new clothes. Reuse! Accept hand-me-downs from friends, relatives, and neighbors. Check Freecycle and Craig’s List. Buy clothes second hand at a local consignment shop or thrift store.
• When buying new, look for clothes that are organic, recycled, and/or recyclable, like the organic cotton and Synchilla fleece lines from Patagonia. For older kids, check out Nau, and Maggie’s.
• Don’t buy too much. Buy only what your kids will wear and wear out.
• Don’t forget to donate old clothes that are no longer in use.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

Packing school lunches can be a mess of foil, baggies, and plastic wrap. When lunch is over, there’s a small mountain of garbage left behind.

Waste Free Lunches gives the following tips for packing your child’s lunch (or your own):

• Start with a reusable lunchbox, backpack, or briefcase
• Pack your food in reusable containers
• Include a drink in a refillable bottle
• Add reusable utensils
• Use a cloth napkin

Laptop Lunches has a great waste free lunch system based on the Japanese Bento Box. It’s lead free and top rack dishwasher safe.

If your kid is too cool for a lunch box, try a simple organic cotton lunch bag and a Wrap-N-Mat sandwich wrapper.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

While I was at the grocery store yesterday, I saw an enormous back-to-school display. Is it really that time already?

Since back-to-school season is a big time for new purchases, over the next few days I’ll give you some greener options to get your kids ready for their first day.

Before you buy new supplies, go through the ones from last year and make sure you keep anything that’s usable. Of course, old crayons aren’t as exciting as new ones. Explain to your kids that using up what you already have is better for the environment than buying new. When you need to replace supplies, look for greener options.

You already know to buy recycled paper, right? Well, Greenline Paper Company takes recycled school supplies to a new level with items like the Rebinder. The Rebinder is 100% recyclable (unlike it’s vinyl covered counterparts) and when it wears out after years of use, you can replace the cover.

Greenline also has pens made from recycled plastic, pencils made from recycled money, and rulers made from old blue jeans.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

You know that old saying, a stitch in time saves nine? Well, it’s true. Making simple repairs to your clothes and household linens — a few stitches to an unraveling hemline, or a loose button right — when you first notice a problem, can save you bigger repairs (or the need to replace the item) later. It’s another way to keep your belongings in commission longer, so you consume less and keep your footprint smaller.

Don’t know how to sew? Here’s a great video tutorial on sewing on buttons. And here’s one on mending a seam.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

My pup has been running around collarless since he snapped the plastic on his old collar the last time we took him camping. As I’ve mentioned, going green isn’t about buying more. But when something is worn out and no longer useful, replacing it with a greener product is the way to go.

Only Natural Pet Store has some adorable hemp collars. Hemp is a renewable resource, and the hemp in these collars is 100% biodegradable, hypoallergenic, and pesticide/herbicide free.

Abundant Earth has hemp collars with metal buckles and grommets. They say their collars are like jeans. They break in and get better with time.

Annie’s Sweatshop has collars made from recycled ties or repurposed cotton. Send in your old dog collar for recycling and get a five dollar discount!

CraftBits has instructions for making a collar out of an old shirt. This would be a great project for smaller dogs. I’m pretty sure my big beast would destroy it in a few minutes.

Even smaller purchases can be an opportunity to make greener choices.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.