The Back-To-School Green Conspiracy

It’s back-to-school time, so that means we better break out the solar backpacks and the school supplies made out of recycled e-waste.

Yep, life’s getting a little different from the era when autumn meant a new box of 64 Crayolas and a Rat Patrol metal lunch box with matching thermos.

This year, it seems most of the big box stores are using environmental themes to sell their back-to-school supplies. Merchants are trying hard to capitalize on the growing eco-conscious movement among young people committed to saving the planet but not knowing if it really helps the environment to buy a $70 backpack that powers an iPod with solar energy.

Could it be that these retailers are taking advantage of our kids by giving them all a consumer feel-good option while charging double for products that weren’t identified as “environmentally friendly” before green became the new color of trendy businesses?

"This is the next frontier in the green movement. Retailers during back-to-school season can cater to customer desires and capture a higher price, and higher margin, from those who are willing to spend more on products sensitive to the environment," said Madison Riley, an analyst for retail consultancy Kurt Salmon Associates in a newspaper article appearing in the Boston Globe.

Anybody else think that sounds a little … I don’t know … evil? Taking advantage of kids is a long-time retailer back-to-school trick (Remember those Planet of the Apes pencils that glowed in the dark? It was a must-have for every boy at my elementary school!) But when all of the major big box stores start using environment awareness to shill doubtfully green products, it smells of conspiracy.

Hopefully, our educators will be prepared for the onslaught of vendor-sanctioned environmental products and can project real ways children can improve the global environment. Better that our kids learn about the environment in school, than from vendors willing to paint anything green to make a buck.