A Trash-Free Lunch

For moms and dads looking to decrease their carbon footprint on the kiddie level, the ubiquitous brown lunch sack is a good place to put your focus. Of course the little brown bags make it convenient to haul an organic peanut butter and jelly sandwich to school, but they aren't so nice to Mother Earth. Meghan Sahli-Wells, a founding member of Transition Culver City and a mom of two boys, shares her tips on keeping your kid’s lunch trash-free:

For hot meals: Sahli-Wells recommends using Thermos’ insulated stainless steel containers if you’re in the mood to send something besides the classic sandwich. Or head over to Whole Foods or Cost Plus World Market to pick up a set of stainless steel containers. Bonus: Thermos has special kid-friendly designs to make it more fun for your little ones to cart their containers to school.

Go for the cloth: Ditch the plastic baggies and head over to to purchase a handy set of PB Green cloth bags. They are lined so they won’t leak and are locally made, which makes them that much more sustainable. Also, think about purchasing cloth napkins for the kiddies to use instead of paper ones. Another handy tip: Save extra plastic forks and cutlery from takeout dinners and use them in your kid’s lunch sack. The key is to reuse, Sahli-Wells said.

Play the name game: Yes, the backpack, notebook and coat all sport your kids' names, but be sure to tag all of their lunch containers (and cloth napkins) so that if they get left behind at school you can be sure that they will eventually find their way home.