The Martlet

September is back to school time, which means students need a bevy of new school supplies. In these eco-conscious times, there are products geared towards students who are concerned about the carbon footprint of their education.

“The average of just a child going to school is producing 67 pounds of garbage a year,” said Andrea Sobie, store manager of Victoria’s The Good Planet Company.

And that figure refers only to lunch supplies, it doesn’t even include pens, pencils, paper, binders, erasers and other supplies students use on a regular basis.

There are measures students can do to try to lessen the carbon footprint of their education ­­— buy products that last, and buy products that were made in an eco-conscious fashion.

“We really need to start thinking about where things are coming from, who’s making them and what effect it’s having on the earth,” said Sobie. “We need to start thinking about products that are actually going to last us for years instead of something that’s going to last us just a couple of months and then we toss it away.”

The Good Planet Company carries student-focused products such as pencils and EcoJot planners out of 100 per cent recycled paper. The company also sells hemp printer paper.

ZAP Copy in the Student Union Building also stocks biodegradable items, from pens to post-it notes made of recycled paper. ZAP even makes their own notebooks out of leftover paper, which range in cost from $1.75 to $4.99.

The best part about ZAP’s eco-friendly supplies is they aren’t going to blow a student budget.

“Most of our stuff that’s recycled doesn’t cost more than a non-recycled item would,” said ZAP supervisor Roxy Price.

Since starting at ZAP two years ago, Price has made it her mission to bring in more eco-friendly products. ZAP’s Hilroy notebooks, for example, have covers made of 90 per cent recycled content and 30 per cent recycled paper. They also cost the same as the non-recycled notebooks.

“Most of this stuff has been brought in in the last year,” she said. Two of ZAP’s most recent items are Earth Write pencils, made from 100 per cent recycled cedar, and biodegradable pens and pencils for $2.59 that will decompose in your garden in approximately one year.

When it comes to lunches, The Good Planet Company carries a vast array of products that are both thoughtfully made and built to last.

Utensils are an important part of eating. It’s possible to bring a fork from home, but then you run the risk of losing it. An alternative is the To-Go Ware RePEat Utensil Set. This set of a bamboo utensils, plus a set of chopsticks, comes in a carry pouch made from recycled bottles and plastic bags. The carry pouch is available in five colours, and comes with a carabiner to eliminate the losing-your-cutlery factor. This set rings in at $13.99.

The Linen Lunch Box and Linen Cooler Bag are two other great ways to transport your lunch.

“They’re all made out of linen and they’re designed in Canada too,” said Sobie. They’re adorable too, with giraffes, airplanes, dandelions and butterflies among your design choices. They also have a back pocket perfect for your bamboo cutlery set. The lunch box is $28.99 and the cooler bag is $26.99.

When it comes to actually holding your food, stainless steel, BPA-free plastic containers are the way to go.

“We’ve got a lot of stainless steel. What we like about stainless steal is its dishwasher safe, you can heat things on the stove or on the oven if you need to, and a lot of them are actually double walled so it’ll keep things nice and warm for you or cold for you depending on what you’re taking,” explained Sobie.

Two- and three-tiered stainless steel tiffins are also a great way to bring variety to your lunch. Good Planet has them in stock priced at $27.99 and $29.99, respectively.

While buying reusable, sustainable lunch containers isn’t cheap, Sobie says it’s a long term investment.

“We’re saving money in the long run in the sense that when you start buying something that lasts you longer than a year, you’re already saving money instead of buying Ziploc bags every month,” she said. “We really need to start thinking about our impacts on this earth.”

The Good Planet Company is located downtown at 764 Fort Street or online at goodplanet.com.