Back to school

The clock’s ticking. Three weeks from now, about 23 million students and half-a-million teachers will troop back to school.

In the meantime, bedlam reigns in Divisoria, Recto, airconditioned malls and bookstores as shoppers scramble for branded and unbranded school supplies and uniforms. It’s back-to-school sales season, dearies!

The ever vigilant Department of Trade and Industry has warned buyers to check labels for quality assurance because cheaper school items could contain harmful chemicals that cause cancer.

It’s easy to fall victim to these back-to-school promos, but having been alerted by the DTI already, it wouldn’t hurt shoppers really to stay away from substandard materials. And from pickpockets also.

Having said that, the back-to-school selling fever is still on a high roll. To those whose shopping isn’t completely over yet, you can avoid the traffic jams made worse by the blazing summer heat by shopping online.

There are no flea-market prices here, meaning you may pay a teeny weeny bit more for the items on SMilDS e-mall, but spending for quality items that are safe and last long shouldn’t be compromised.

The speed and convenience you experience when shopping on the Internet – can’t be quantified. No more elbow-pushing as you find your way to the cash registers or having your bags snatched away before you could even cry Help, I’ve been robbed.

Your Internet purchases will be delivered to where you want them brought by courier companies that respect delivery deadlines and whose crews have been trained on road safety procedures.

Just think simple, happy thoughts. Like, on the first day of school, the children are ready with their new uniforms, bags, textbooks, lunchboxes. With no allergy signs whatsoever.