How To Green Your Child

Supply your kids with notebooks made from recycled paper, biodegradable pens, recycled pencils, and solar-powered calculators, all of which are available online or at larger supply stores.

Stuff their school supplies in an eco-friendly backpack made of recycled rubber or hemp.

Demonstrate the value of reusing items, while at the same time stoking your kids’ creativity, by designating one box or basket an Arts & Crafts Catchall. Encourage the whole family to toss in odds and ends that might be useful in an art project — scraps of paper, pieces of ribbon & string, parts of discarded or broken toys, & empty paper rolls.

Grow something with your child. If you can manage a small vegetable patch, great. But even a small windowsill herb garden will impart lessons on the joys of fresh, homegrown food.

Teach your children by word and deed. Explain to them why you bring your own shopping totes to the supermarket and don’t leave the water running while your brush your teeth. If you’re consistent, eco-friendly choices will become a way of life for them, too.