How to Go Green for Halloween

Every year kids get dressed up as their favorite character or thing to walk the streets of their neighborhoods with candy sacks in hand, celebrating Halloween. While reveling in the joy of tricks and treats, it can be easy to overlook the ecological disaster that this holiday can be. From the costumes to the candy, the parties and the decorations, there are some easy choices you can make to have a greener Halloween.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Internet access
• Materials for a home-made costume like cloth, a hot glue gun or a sewing kit
• Reusable Halloween decorations and accessories

1. When it’s time to choose the treats you’ll give to the ghouls and goblins that darken your door, choose fair trade candy. Fair Trade candies are available online. The fair trade commission makes sure that all products with this label are eco-friendly in their creation and transport. If you need treats in a hurry, then try to find organic versions.
2. As you map out your trick-or-treat route, keep in mind that a route you can walk round trip is not only heart healthy, but is also eco-friendly. Keep the carbon emissions out of your Halloween and save some of the gasoline.
3. When your little trick-or-treater is deciding what they want to be during the witching hour, offer to make them a costume that they can’t find in the store. Using homemade materials and some imagination can result in a truly original costume, and making it together can be a fun time. Many homemade costumes stand the test of time better than the plastic store-bought versions, too.
4. If you have a party, make sure that the utensils, plates and cups are reusable. Also, try to reuse your Halloween decorations every year instead of replacing them.

Tips & Warnings

• Use leftover apples or pumpkins for your compost pile.