Gym gear, a good bike, a lunch box, a backpack, school treats that comply with the school's policy: if you have school-age children, you know you're on the clock and have to make regular expenditures. But you can also make sustainable choices for school-age children. Guess what? These are often choices that make you cheaper. That's why Sas has a list of Sustainable budget tips for school-age children. Have you thought about this?
Sustainable tips for school that will save you money
At the start of the school year, it hits again, but even during the school year, it happens quite often that school children need new supplies. If you are not careful, this can become quite an expensive purchase. And often all these purchases are not so pretty for the planet either. Because all those items have a considerable environmental impact. footprint. Why buy all that kids‘ stuff new if you know it's only going to be used for a short time - hello growth spurt. And the same goes for the previous owners, so many items are still ’as good as new'. With these tips, you can keep costs under control this coming school year and be sustainable too!
‘Fixing ’new' gym equipment in the schoolyard
Do the indoor gym shoes still fit? A few times a year you do a check to see if the gym kit still fits. It doesn't? Then where do you buy a new one? In a webshop, at a big blue sports shop or... in the schoolyard! Every day you meet so many parents and children. And everyone has the same problem: at some point, those gym clothes are too small and you have to get rid of them. So the tip is: ask in WhatsApp groups (e.g. of the class or sports club) and in the schoolyard for sportswear and sneakers for takeover. So far, I always manage to take over sneakers from a classmate. And the outfit? I score those at a thrift store or flea market. You can almost always find useful sports shorts there. And finding a second-hand T-shirt is not difficult either.
If your school network doesn't work out, you can always try Marktplaats, Facebook or Vinted. You don't have to worry so much about worn-out shoes for indoor sneakers. These are not worn often at all - and only indoors.
Tip 1: On Marktplaats, you can reduce your search circle to five kilometres. That way, you can pick things up by bike. On Facebook, you can search close by joining sales groups in your neighbourhood.
Tip 2: Think ahead. You already know that those gym clothes are going to be too small one day. Buy the next size up in time (I usually skip one size). That way you avoid stress and an impulse buy.
Second-hand sneakers acquired from classmate.
Idea for schools
By my Instagram community I know that some schools have disposable cupboards. Parents and children can put things they want to get rid of in there and take out what they need. Great fun! There are also schools that have special lockers for passing on gym equipment. And the noticeboard for supply and demand is also back at some schools. Great!
A good second-hand bike via Marktplaats
There are still many children who get a new bike for their birthday, an expensive expense that is usually used sparingly. This is good news for sustainable bargain hunters, as these are the perfect children's bikes to buy second-hand. I find the best second-hand children's bikes on Marktplaats. You have to pay attention, though, because the choice is huge and a lot of junk bikes are also sold. Unfortunately, I can talk about this myself: for my son, we once bought a second-hand bike for ten euros that we then had to have repaired for over seventy euros (and never did great). This mis-sale cost us a lot of time, money and irritation. Since then, we only aim for the more expensive second-hand bike segment, but even that is still a good deal!
Visit an (online) bike shop and see what the A-brands are and try to find them in good condition second-hand via Marktplaats. Set searches with and radius of no more than 10-20 kilometres. We are very satisfied with the bicycle brand Cube. This is already the third second-hand bike of this brand. New, this children's mountain bike costs around four hundred euros. On Marktplaats, you'll spend between 150 and 250 euro on average for a nice one.
Second-hand mountain bike from Cube found via Marktplaats through a search, as this brand is in high demand.
Tip for a child-friendly bike lock
The child's brain works wonders. They leave all sorts of things lying around. ‘Mum, have you seen my bike key?’ But they remember numbers surprisingly well, better than an adult. Have you ever played memory against a child? You fail! That's why the tip with that nice second-hand children's bike is: a number lock. That way they'll never lose that key.
Invest in rock-solid lunchbox and mug
You can find bread bins, drinking cups and bottles in abundance at the thrift shop. Only you don't know how old they are and what material they are made of. And it is now known that some (old) products can contain hormone-disrupting substances, of which Bisphenol A (BPA) is a notorious one. So bread bins and drinking cups I would only buy second-hand if I'm sure it's a reasonably new one from a well-known brand/store like Mepal, Brabantia, Hema or Blokker. Or you should go for a different material, such as stainless steel. Want to know more about those hormone disruptors? Check out this episode of Zembla.
Tip: always buy these products in a neutral print or colour. Before you know it, they will think a monkey or princess on their lunch box is too childish. Don't buy personalised products (with name) either, you can't easily pass them on or resell them.
Selling children's clothes on Vinted, back-to-school and a swap box.
More budget tips for school kids, but more sustainable
- You can buy children's clothes second-hand in abundance. My favourite spots are Vinted (targeted searches for cute brands) and the thrift shop and flea markets (nice stuff for little money).
- Backpack - second-hand of course!
- Laptop, tablet, smartwatch you can safely buy refurbished. That's second-hand, but fully checked and repaired if needed. Moreover, you buy it with a warranty, nice idea.
- Birthday? Congratulations! Go for a sustainable and healthy school treat, without toys. For inspiration, check out this article with our seven ideas for a sustainable and healthy treat. Which sustainable children's treat will it be?
- Stuff too small or run out? Sell it, pass it on or donate it to charity. Tips for selling smoothly on Vinted can be found here!
- Nice idea: in some places in the Netherlands there are children's chainwear swaps. Or you can start one yourself via The Clothing Loop.
Back to school, but sustainable!
So, how will you tackle it from now on? With these tips, hopefully you will have enough inspiration to do a lot of kids‘ shopping more sustainably and cheaply. When they say ’sustainable', many people think 'expensive'. Expensive brands, expensive shops, but that doesn't have to be the case. If you have any great ideas for our kids, please let us know! You can find the contact buttons at the bottom of this page.
More sustainable tips from thegreenlist.nl
- Also check out this fun family outing: on wild-picking walks in Amsterdam (or anywhere else in our country).
- Looking for a nice gift for dads? Check out the list of the cutest Father's Day gifts.
- Looking for a nice gift for mothers? Check out the list of the cutest Mother's Day gifts.
Photo credits: thegreenlist.nl, closet: Dani Nijboer.
