Back to School: Eco-Friendly Pens, Pencils, Markers and Crayons

Back to school is right around the corner and it's time to start thinking about school supplies such as pens, pencils, markers and crayons. This year, look for eco-friendly items for your kids instead of the traditional supplies. Many benefits are associated with buying earth-friendly items but the main one is that you're supporting green living.

Another reason is that it gets kids thinking about "going green" at an early age and shows them how simple things such as using back to school eco-friendly pens, pencils, markers and crayons can make a big difference. The natural materials used when making these items are also safer for your kids.

Here's what makes these school supplies "green", where you can find them and how much you can expect to spend:

Pencils- There are two main types of eco-friendly pencils available on the market today. One type is made from recycled materials that includes everything from old newspapers to worn-out blue jeans. No trees are used to make these pencils, making them 100 percent green. The other type are the ones made from green wood, which is wood taken from trees in a sustainable harvested forest or from using scrap wood that would have otherwise been thrown away. You can order ten boxes containing 100 pencils from Greenciles.com for $29.99.

Crayons- Eco-friendly crayons are made from natural materials such as soy and beeswax. The colors are created with mineral powders or plant dyes instead of petroleum byproducts. You can buy an 8-pack of Prang Soy based eco-friendly crayons at Grand River Toys for as low as $0.99 or a pack of 64 for $7.99.

Ink Pens- The casing of these are made from green wood, recycled paper or a biodegradable corn plastic material that won't just lay in the landfill for years when thrown away. You can buy eco-friendly pens for $3.05 a piece at Green Apple Supply.

Auspen Markers- These eco-friendly markers use non-toxic ink and they don't contain Xylene, which is the chemical that gives markers that odd smell that can cause headaches in many people. They're also refillable so you never have to throw them away. Purchase a 6-pack of whiteboard markers from Ecrater for $13.94

Eco-friendly writing tools perform just as well as the traditional ones but they're much better for the environment. It's the way they're made or the way the waste is disposed of that makes them eco-friendly and that doesn't affect performance.

We now live in the era where everyone has concerns over the environment. People are making changes to help reduce their carbon footprint and conserve natural resources. Purchasing back to school eco-friendly pens, pencils, markers and crayons is a great way to show your support and promote green living and with many companies on-board with the green movement, it's easier than ever before to find what you're looking for.