School supplies are hit hard by inflation, estimated between 10 and 40% on certain products. The 4% increase in the back-to-school allowance, paid on August 16, was adopted to help parents cope.
School supplies are not immune to inflation, and just like food or energy, they will experience a considerable price increase. A real harm to families, with rates 10% to 40% more expensive. And if the revaluation of the back-to-school allowance by 4%, within the framework of the purchasing power law, was adopted to help parents equip their children at the start of the school year, the latter will face record prices. : for a pupil entering the sixth grade this year, the expenses generated show an increase of 8.3% according to the annual study by Families of France. And for a complete list, it takes 170 euros on average reports the Republicanwhich symbolizes this price increase with a punchy figure: up to 150% more on the price of paper!
School supplies, between reuse and strictly necessary
In order to be able to optimize the purchase of new school supplies as well as possible, and to spend only on essential needs, many parents sort past year’s business. If the pens are still working, the notebooks are barely started or the material is no longer pretty but still usable, it will be put back in the binder this year without scruple. Enough to focus more calmly, and perhaps with better budget management, on other purchases inherent to the start of the school year: digital equipment, new wardrobe after the summer growth spurt, or even school transport subscription. A way also to combine a new attitude of eco-responsible consumption, encouraged by the Minister of National Education, encouraging teachers to establish minimalist lists and review their teaching tools. No more textbooks to buy, for example, instead of the computerized digital blackboard. And in a circular which already anticipates the start of the 2023 school year, Pap Ndiaye calls on this subject for increased vigilance from establishments, while the Trade Union Confederation of Families notes impressive disparities between three lists of CPs, from 4 to 85 items requested depending on the school. reports The cross.
School supplies: rupture avoided, inflation forced
Preparing for the next school year has proven to be complicated for school supply suppliers. Suffering themselves from a rise in the price of raw materials, they also encountered production difficulties, also risking a shortage.. “We combine an acceleration of crazy inflation and above all a shortage of constituent elements of products without substitution. The cover of the notebook in paper, thicker or in plastic, is complicated to find, and also the packaging. And at one point, we even thought that we would no longer have labels. explained Guillaume Nusse, CEO of Clairefontaine, to FranceInfo. In producing countries abroad, factories are converting to cardboard to the detriment of the paper pulp industry, which has become less profitable. In France, shortages of paper pulp are playing into the hands of wild speculation, which worries professionals in the sector, unable to project themselves. In fact, all these hazards will be felt on the bill of the parents, even if – competition obliges – the resellers will offer the tightest possible prices. Nevertheless, it is still recommended, while the school year is not over, to start stocking up on school supplies and to watch for promotions. Buy in batches, by class groups, in supply exchanges or in clearance stores, all means are good to save money and above all, to plan for the necessary for the whole year. Because after the special offers proposed for the start of the school year, a change in prices is not excluded.