From the small things that wouldn’t cross your mind such as tea bags – to the bigger items, you use regularly like dish brushes. Munch is right beside you to direct attention towards products that help not harm our planet.
Read more to transform your home, step-by-step into an eco-friendly one.
It’s on April 22nd, and we’re so excited!
World Earth Day is an annual celebration that raises awareness of the need to protect Earth’s natural resources for future generations.
Munch is about empowering individuals to change the world. We aim to make it easier to act sustainable and shop consciously, by producing every day, beautiful, green products that make a difference. Together we can make change happen. World Earth Day quite literally means the World to us.
How can you #investinourplanet?
Starting back at school can be a busy time of year, for both children and parents! When things get busy, it’s easy to opt for convenience over anything else — and traditionally, convenience comes as a cost to the environment. A frequently asked question we get at the start of every year is “how can I send my kids back to school in the most eco-friendly way possible?”. We’ve got the answers!
How can I save money when going back to school?
If the bustle of getting ready for back to school isn’t new to you and your family, then chances are, there are old school supplies from last year lying around the house.
Perhaps it might be stationery, books, backpacks or lunchboxes — these could be reused, saving you the additional cost of repurchasing the same supplies year on year. Kids love to keep up with the latest trends, but that means more money and more waste! If you have a good rummage around, you’ll be sure to find school supplies from previous years that are too good to discard.
How do I minimise waste in lunchboxes?
There are always sustainable alternatives for items such as lunch boxes and bags which are long-lasting and kind to the environment – this is our specialty!
When shopping for a new lunchbox for the kids, it needs to be durable and sturdy. A great option is to consider lunchboxes with sections for different foods like our collapsible bento lunchbox or stainless-steel lunch box with built-in compartments. This removes the need to individually wrap snacks and sandwiches with plastic cling wrap that goes straight in the bin.
Alternatively, beeswax food wraps are another great sustainable and reusable option over cling wrap. Our favourites for lunchboxes are the apple print. Not only do the natural beeswax wraps keep food fresher, but they are locally made here in New Zealand by Munch’s very own home workforce of over 40 women. Employment can be inaccessible for a variety of reasons — so every time you purchase a sewn product from Munch, these wahine are able to work, obtain an income, provide for their families, and feel empowered. See how being conscious of the products you buy can have an overwhelmingly positive impact? Even a small beeswax wrap can make such a difference! If wraps aren't your thing, we have super easy beeswax snack bags.
We have the perfect variety of containers and bags to keep snacks in. Try our Stainless steel lunch containers that come in a 3 pack. The 3 different sizes mean you always have the perfect sized container. For another snack storage solution, we have Litterless lunch wraps and Bags that are organic and fair trade.
Pop these litterless alternative snack bags into a Munch Lizard lunchbox or Roll down lunchbag- lunchboxes that will last for years.
Thirsty? Say goodbye to single use plastic drink bottles that will take hundreds of years to break down. Welcome our Glass drink bottle and 500ml stainless steel drink bottle that will last you a long time while keeping your beverage hot or cold.
Our kids have to wear masks at school now – is there a reusable option that is also safe?
With COVID-19 being ever-present worldwide, wearing masks has become the norm. Now with government-regulated mask wearing for teachers and students in years 4-13, a protective mask is a necessary addition to the school bag.
Rather than disposable masks which end up in landfills, reusable cotton face masks with a three-layer filter system are an excellent option for daily use. This minimises the amount of waste produced while also offering more protection than disposable ones. Cloth masks have gotten a bad rap in the media, but be assured that it’s the single or two layer cloth masks that aren’t recommended — three layer cloth masks are the way to go!
A great sustainable option is #TheGoodFacemask, made right here in Aotearoa using locally designed fabrics printed on close-woven organic cotton. These masks are also made by the incredible women in our home workforce — protecting your little ones at school provides purposeful work for those who need it. Find out more here.
Getting the kids ready for the new school year requires a lot of preparation — but it doesn’t have to be a chore! At Munch, we’ve got everything you need to ensure the back-to-school frenzy is stress-free and ultimately kinder to the environment. Become a sustainability champion with Munch and check out our online store now.
5 Green Tips to Kick-Start the School Year
Ok, I know that for most of us, the priority is just to GET OUR KIDS BACK TO SCHOOL this year! After the unprecedented interruptions to schooling (and life in general!) in 2020 and 2021, we all have our fingers, toes and pencil cases crossed that things will run more smoothly in 2022. When it comes to back-to-school, there is a huge amount of STUFF involved. That’s what makes the start of the school year the perfect opportunity to make some sustainable changes. As always, my ethos is progress, not perfection. Don’t feel like you need to become Captain Planet overnight and change up everything in your children’s schoolbags! How about choosing one of these five ideas to kickstart the school year more sustainably?
1 The lunchbox feels like a good place to start. Let’s hope that when you pull out the school bags you don’t find the remains of last year’s unemptied lunchbox! I’m very happy to report that there are some amazing sustainable solutions for lunchboxes. Bento lunchboxes have compartments inside them, so you don’t need to wrap everything individually, or resort to expensive prepackaged snacks. Some bentos are even leakproof, meaning you can pop yoghurt or hummus straight in. Another great option is to skip the plastic altogether with a stainless-steel lunchbox. They tend to be a little more expensive, but they absolutely make up for it in terms or durability. My kids have each been given a stainless-steel bento lunchbox when they started school (fifth birthday present… check!), and the expectation is that it will last their entire primary schooling (and beyond hopefully). At the risk of jinxing ourselves, so far we are on track. Lunchbox hack: Magnets make great decorations for stainless-steel lunchboxes!
Something that we are adding to our routine this year is a lunch flask! My kids are frustratingly fussy when it comes to sandwiches, so I struggle to get something substantial into their lunch. My plan with the flask is to give them something hot to eat like pasta, rice, soup (with bread to dunk) or leftovers. Our lunch flask (from Munch Cupboard) is double-walled, meaning it can keep food hot or cold, and it doesn’t feel hot to touch. We have been trying it out on some of our Italian picnics and are super impressed by how well it works!
Beeswax wraps, food pouches, reusable lunch bags and small reusable containers are other options for more sustainable lunchboxes.
2 Like our lunchboxes, we have opted for durable, stainless steel drink bottles. I find the simpler the better, I’ve been fooled in the past by little gizmos like ‘misters’ and fancy nozzles, only to find that they quickly break, rendering the entire drink bottle unusable. Stainless steel bottles keep water cold all day, and if you opt for a double walled one, it can also keep liquid hot… a perfect alternative to a thermos! I use a permanent marker to write my child’s name on the bottom of the bottle, and sometimes my phone number too.
3 Regardless of whether your kids’ school is uniform or mufti, there are some sustainable (and cost-saving!) options when it comes to school attire. Look out for secondhand uniforms on Trademe, Facebook Marketplace, preloveduniforms.co.nz, local Facebook pages or at your school’s own secondhand shop. The same goes for sports’ uniforms. My kids pretty much live in secondhand clothes, mainly hand-me-downs, and some op-shop purchases. As I spend so little on their clothing, it means that from time to time I am happy to invest in a quality, sustainable garment that they need. At the risk of sounding like a school newsletter; remember to name your child’s clothing! That way, when (and I use when rather than if intentionally) they lose an item, it can hopefully find its way back to them!
4 Did you know that every year, six billion pens that still work are thrown away? Depending on how your school organizes stationary, you may not have much say in the matter, but if you do, here are a few tips. Have a good hunt through what you already have before you go stationary shopping. You’ll probably find that you can tick off a lot of the items without spending a cent. When you do need to buy new, don’t get lured into buying things on sale that they don’t absolutely need. Sure, a 5 cent notebook is a pretty amazing deal (technically called a ‘loss leader’, intended to act as a draw card to get you into the store), but if they don’t actually need it, then is it really a good deal? And do you really need a ten pack of glue sticks, or will they just lose them ten times as quickly? School bags themselves are a tricky one. As with everything, the most sustainable school bag is the one that you already own! But if your child needs a new one, then your best bet it to opt for a good quality one, with a decent warrantee, that will last them years.
5 A final way to up your eco ante: transportation. Is there one thing you can do to cut the emissions of your school drop offs and pick ups? Perhaps walking, cycling or scootering could be on the cards. Taking the bus, or joining the walking school bus? Ride-sharing with neighbours? Start with one day a week and see how it goes. It’s not about turning your entire life upside-down, it’s about taking small steps that work with, or perhaps even enhance your life. I know that the days I walk home from school with my kids are the days that we have the best chats. All of a sudden they want to tell me everything about their day, as opposed to the grunts I’m generally treated to in the car.
So the bag is packed and school is OPEN (all that finger, toe and pencil case crossing worked!) You’ve survived the school holidays, and the intense times that preceded them. We don’t know what 2022 will bring, but for now, as you send your children off, enjoy the moment and be proud of what you’ve all done (even if that is just survive!). Here’s to a more unlocked, predictable, and perhaps a little-bit-greener 2022!
