The ASHA Leader - September 2014 - (Page 38)

On tHe jOb s c h o o l m At t e r s School Supplies Go Green If you're looking to make a change for the better this year, consider choosing school supplies that are safer for your students and friendly to the planet. By AnAstAsiA AntoniAdis suggestions for choosing green products. Its "Green Schools Buying Guide" is an excellent resource for school districts that are making purchasing decisions that support environmental health. Choosing vendors If you have flexibility in choosing vendors, here are some to consider: Kermit the Frog's famous tune, "It's Not Easy Being Green," gives a host of reasons why being green is so hard. But by the end of the song, Kermit decides that being green was what he wanted to be. How about you? For this school year, resolve to help the students on your caseload have a non-toxic-or at least less toxic-environment in which to learn, play and thrive by going green with your supplies. What does it mean to go green for school supplies? Speech-language pathologists are inundated by catalogs filled with wonderful, colorful, fragrant, pliable toys as treatment materials. We use these every day with our students. But how much do we really know about the safety and composition of the materials our shrinking budget dollars are purchasing every year? And what about other materials, 38 Sep tember 2014 | tHe ASHA Le ADer such as the rubber tubing you may use for oral exercises-how safe are these? The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 made it mandatory for all toys aimed at children younger than 14 to meet new federal safety standards. Some of these include lead content and concentration of phthalates (DEHP, DBP and BBP in particular). Despite these protections, toys of questionable safety continue to enter the consumer market. There are no third-party certifiers to provide information on school or office supplies. At best, an SLP would have to search online or contact the manufacturer or distributor to inquire. Too much work! There has to be a better way. One place to start is by accessing information available through the Green Schools Initiative (www.greenschools.net) that has * The Green Office (www. thegreenoffice.com) provides both green and conventional office supplies, discounts and free nextday delivery for orders that meet a minimum purchase amount. * New Leaf (www.newleafpaper. com) provides paper goods made from environmentally sustainable sources. * Greener Earth Office Supplies (www.greenearthofficesupply. com) has backpacks, binders, calendars, desk supplies and art supplies. The product information page explains their standards, tree-free paper and other environmental considerations. * Office Depot (www.officedepot. com) sells recycled supplies; find them through a simple search on the website. * SuperDuper Publications places a product safety statement (bit.ly/ superduperinc) on its website and invites customers to e-mail them for more information. Companies with this types of statement make it easier for consumers to trust the safety of their purchases. * The Ultimate Green Store (bit.ly/ eco-school-supplies) sells green school supplies such as eco-pencils and crayons, non-toxic glue sticks, and recycled notebooks. http://www.thegreenoffice.com http://www.thegreenoffice.com http://www.newleafpaper.com http://www.newleafpaper.com http://www.greenearthofficesupply.com http://www.greenearthofficesupply.com http://www.officedepot.com http://www.officedepot.com http://bit.ly/superduperinc http://bit.ly/superduperinc http://bit.ly/eco-school-supplies http://bit.ly/eco-school-supplies http://www.greenschools.net

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The ASHA Leader - September 2014

The ASHA Leader - September 2014
Contents
Inbox
From My Perspective
Glimpses
News in Brief
Research in Brief
Blogjam
People
In the Limelight
Policy Analysis
CMS Releases Proposed 2015 Rules
Medicare TEP Policy Hurts Providers, Patients
At a Glance
On the Job
Bottom Line
Make It Work
School Matters
Student's Say
App-titude
Four on the Core
In Private Practice
Taking Measure
ASHA News
ASHA Calendar
Posted
American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation
Careers/Job Openings
First Person/Last Page

The ASHA Leader - September 2014