Eco-Friendly Finds For Back to School

Back to school time is here and the school supply lists are dropping like hot fire. Like most parents, I examined the list with an eye of scrutiny because hello budget. One of the other things that I really looked hard at were the classroom supplies that were for cleaning.

What We're Talking About...

Not All Cleaning Supplies Are Made Equally

Growing up, I remember believing the strong smells of bleach were synonymous with clean. Now that we have more education, we know this isn’t true. Because of the amount of cleaners that we use that have volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are emitted as you clean, the pollution in the air indoors is almost five times more than outdoor air. That’s a scary statistic to have our children sitting in for most of their days.

Mamavation has done a study on cleaning supplies and it was determined that the following ingredients are what should be avoided:

Methylchloroisothiazolinone and Methylisothiazolinone
SLS/SLES: Sodium Laureth Sulfate and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Styrene
Undisclosed Fragrance/Perfume
Benzophenone
PEGs/Polysorbates
Ethylene Glycol
Ethoxylated Compounds
Sodium Dodecylbenzenesulfonate
Methyl Alcohol
Ethanolamine
Butylphenyl Methylpropional
Benzyl Salicylate
Alkyl Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chlorides
Copper Sulfate Pentahydrate
Octylisothiazolinone
Artificial Dyes
Dimethicone
Phenoxyethanol
Propanediol
Coumarin

For more details on why to avoid these, in particular, click here.

Ok, so now that you’ve been properly scared and possibly overwhelmed with information, here are some eco-friendly options that can replace what is on these classroom supply lists.