Eco-Friendly Tip: Make it a PVC-Free Lunch for Back-to-School

Back to school also means back to packing lunches on a daily basis. While you may have ideas on what to put inside the lunch box, have you thought about the actual lunch box itself?

In this case, it may be what's on the outside that counts.

Eco-Tip #3 - Choose a PVC-Free Lunch Bag

Many lunch bags and boxes on the market are actually made of toxic plastic, most commonly polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl). PVC contains harmful chemicals, including phthalates, lead and cadmium which can be toxic to a child's health. Phthalates and other toxic additives can leach out or evaporate into the air over time causing potential danger to children. That's why PVC is called the poison plastic.

PVC has even been linked to autism. A recent Swedish study published in Scientific American found that infants or toddlers who lived in a bedroom with vinyl or PVC flooring were twice as likely to have autism five years later than those with wood or linoleum floors.

There are lots of great looking, fun and funky PVC-free options on the market now so our tip for you is: choose one of them. It's your child's health at stake - why take the risk?

Check out the vibrant graphic bags with simple, eye-catching neoprene designs from Seattle-based Dabbawalla or the sleek and stylish new brown bags from New York's Milkdot. And what about you? For adults there's a great range of four funky neoprene gourmet getaway lunch bags from Built NY.

This eco-tip is for those of us who are definitely not litterbugs, but we're not tree huggers either. It's simply an idea or suggestion about taking easy, little - do-able - steps towards living life a little greener. If you have any thoughts or comments on PVC, we'd love to hear from you!

Visit our online boutique at Lavish & Lime for a great selection of back to school products that are good for you and for the planet.