Tips for avoiding PVC school supplies

The Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ) has created this seventh-annual Back-to-school Guide to PVC free School Supplies to empower you to make smarter, healthier shopping choices for a toxic-free future. This guide lists the most common back-to-school supplies made out of polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl) plastic and suggests safer PVC-free alternatives for your children.

Here are some quick tips for avoiding PVC in common back-to-school products. They will help you embark down the road towards using safer PVC-free school supplies. See the PVC-free products and suppliers section for a more detailed listing of companies that manufacture or sell PVC-free school supplies.

PVC isn’t the only plastic that poses a threat to your children’s health; also avoid polycarbonate (PC), polystyrene (PS) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABC) plastics. To be safe, choose non-plastic products whenever possible.

When choosing plastic items, be sure to not only avoid PVC but also avoid the three-arrow ‘recycling’ symbol with the number 3 and/or the initials PVC; indicating it’s made with PVC. If no symbol is present, call the manufacturer’s question/comment line (usually a toll-free 800 number) listed on the package to find out what it’s made of.

And what is good for schooling is PVC free pre-school lunch bag for kids, PVC free diaper bags, etc.

• Avoid backpacks with shiny plastic designs as they often contain PVC and may contain phthalates or lead.
• Avoid backpacks with a warning that says something such as, ‘Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, and birth defects or other reproductive harm.’ This means the product likely contains lead.

• Avoid lunch boxes with a warning that says something such as, ‘Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, and birth defects or other reproductive harm.’ This means the product likely contains lead.
• Even without the warning, many vinyl lunch boxes consists phthalates, and should be avoided.
• Use cloth lunch bags instead. Many lunch boxes are made of PVC, or coated with PVC on the inside.
• Look for lunch boxes labeled as ‘PVC-free.’

So, always look out for PVC free backpacks and Lunch bags for kids and such products for your kids healthy schooldays.