VIDEO. “A pen is a pen”: for a return to school without breaking the bank, they opt for the second hand

2023-09-04 01:03:09

“As long as it works, it’s very good! laughs Romane, choosing a second-hand four-colour pen. On this pre-school Saturday, the student in the second year of a scientific preparatory class in Paris came to fill her kit and her backpack in the shop Emmaus Campus of the Forum des Halles. Here, until the end of September, a “corner” dedicated to the return to school and university has been set up with second-hand supplies and objects donated by Emmaüs partner supermarkets, all sold to very advantageous price. The set of three second-hand pens that Romane has just unearthed costs, for example, 50 cents. Same price for the small format notebook bought by Inès, also a student. For the two young women, Emmaüs Campüs and the many resource centers in the capital are a way to save money and not to exceed their budget allocated to school supplies.

A good “economic, ecological and social” plan

For Inès, who is entering a master’s degree in chemistry, the objective is to stay below the 60 euro mark for the purchase of her supplies. “With new supplies, I won’t be within my budget,” she explains. And it was precisely to find second-hand equipment that she went to the Emmaüs Campüs store in the 1st arrondissement. “I didn’t even know it existed, it’s the first year that I’ve come here to equip myself for the start of the school year. I took four sets of pens, four notebooks and a notebook… All for 4.50 euros! enthused the student. Romane has been a fan of resource centers and associative shops for several years. “It’s really a good economic, ecological, social plan… All these objects have been used but they are still usable, so it’s a shame to throw them away,” explains the young woman.

In the south of Paris, parents of students are on the lookout for a good deal at the associative shop “Creative Resources” (XIV). Like Géraldine, who came with her two sons to find a square for the eldest and colored pencils for the youngest. “Instead of buying a whole box of pencils, we only buy the missing colors. It’s stupid to buy a box of 24 pencils if we have 12 left at home…”, explains the mother for whom this approach of buying second-hand supplies is economical, but above all ecological. “We do this for waste reduction. For years we threw away, we bought back things we already had…” she sighs. By coming here with her two sons, Géraldine also wants to convey this message to them: “We try to have this awareness and to buy just what we need”.