The Honorable Schoolbag

You probably read food labels to avoid consuming products that contain unhealthy ingredients. But what you put on your body can have adverse health effects as well. For instance, dyes or fabric finishes on clothing can irritate the skin or off-gas unhealthy chemical vapors that you inhale. And long before that T-shirt arrives on store shelves, its manufacturing processes may have dumped a toxic load of pesticides and other chemicals into the environment or exploited workers and their families, compromising their health and well-being.

This Green Guide Back-to-School Report Card is designed to help you avoid all that bad stuff--and present you with healthier, fairer choices.

Bad Grades:
PVC (polyvinyl chloride, or vinyl) Clothing, Shoes and School Supplies

"The production of PVC results in dioxins, chlorinated chemicals that are the most toxic and persistent made by humans," says Lisa Finaldi, Toxics Campaign coordinator for Greenpeace USA. Dioxins, identified as cancer-causing by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), drift so far and so easily, Finaldi says, that "when these compounds are produced in Minnesota, they will end up in the Arctic Circle." The chemicals are known to lodge in the fatty tissue of animals and humans, contaminating blood and breast milk. In addition to cancer, they can cause such health problems as organ damage and immune suppression.

As if that weren't bad enough, soft vinyl contains plasticizers called phthalates, many of which affect reproductive health and sexual development in animal experiments. And di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate, which is widely added to soft vinyl products, is considered a probable carcinogen by the U.S. National Toxicology Program. In some studies, phthalates have been shown to migrate out of soft PVC products, so they can be inhaled or, in chewable toys, ingested. Tests by Greenpeace have also found the toxic heavy metals lead and cadmium in vinyl backpacks and raincoats. Clearly, PVC deserves not only a failing grade but expulsion from the planet.

Good Grades:
Chlorine-Free Products

Shoes: Greenpeace has surveyed athletic-shoe manufacturers to identify those that adhere to a no-PVC policy (Nike: now virtually PVC-free, with hang tags stating such), and those with PVC-phaseout plans (Adidas, Asics, Puma). For a complete list, go to www.greenpeaceusa.org/features/shoe_reportcard.htm.

School supplies: Although advertised as "wipe-clean," vinyl-containing notebooks, binders, rulers and pencil cases leave an indelible smudge on the planet. PVC-free supplies can be found at the Real Earth Environmental Company (800-987-3326, www.treeco.com), and Mama's Earth (800-620-7388, www.mamasearth.com).

Backpacks: Vinyl backpacks are so-o-o-o not cool. Put a greener statement on your back with a stylish hemp backpack from Hemp Sisters Inc. (814-443-2738, www.hemp-sisters.com) or a 100 percent post-consumer recycled rubber knapsack from Green Earth Office Supply (800-327-8449, www.greenearthofficesupply.com).

Paper: The vast majority of conventional paper products use chlorine to bleach them "paper white." The problem: This process also creates dioxins. Buy recycled, chlorine-free paper instead, and encourage your school to do so. Dolphin Blue sells 80 percent recycled, chlorine-free office paper and tree-free papers made from scraps or hemp and kenaf (800-932-7715, www.dolphinblue.com). Also see the Chlorine-Free Products Association's lists (847-658-6104, www.chlorinefreeproducts.org).

Bad Grades:
Planet-Polluting Clothes

In 2000, 84 million pounds of pesticides were sprayed on the 14.4 million acres of conventional cotton grown in the U.S. (an average of 5.85 pounds of pesticides per acre), according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture; and the EPA considers 7 of the top 15 pesticides used on U.S. cotton crops to be "possible," "likely," "probable" or "known" human carcinogens. Also in the mix is polyester, a fabric made from petroleum-based chemicals. Add color, and consider that the dyeing process can release chlorine, chromium and other pollutants into the environment. Finally, formaldehyde and other toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can vaporize from permanent press, anti-stain and other fabric treatments.

Good Grades:
Organic Cotton

All-around smarter choices are pesticide-free, untreated, uncolored organic cotton garments, or those tinted with natural/vegetable "fiber-reactive" or "cold pad batch" dyes. Or try naturally "color grown" cotton fibers. High grades also go to unpesticided wool (wool is naturally fire- and water-resistant). Hemp, a hardy plant promoted as eco-friendly, can thrive on far fewer pesticides than cotton, according to the Hemp Industries Association. At this point, though, there are no organic standards or certification for the fibers.

Bad Grades:
Sweatshop-Made Wearables

Sweatshops, which are associated with poorer countries, actually exist in ours too. According to the Hot Fudge Social Venture Fund (a project of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream co-founder Ben Cohen), in Los Angeles 54 percent of all apparel contractors were found guilty of health and safety violations. On average, according to the Fund, just six cents of every dollar spent on apparel winds up in the pockets of the workers who made the clothes. Developed by Hot Fudge to counter these conditions, SweatX is a worker-owned and unionized garment factory that makes casual clothes (866-4-SWEATX, www.sweatx.net).

United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), a coalition of college students on more than 200 campuses, protests unfair labor practices used to make garments that bear university logos (202-NO-SWEAT, www.usasnet.org).