Easy ways to Green Halloween
Halloween. It’s the most amazing festival! Kids and adults enjoy Halloween tremendously, and who doesn’t enjoy dressing up and being someone or something else for a night! In fact, many people proclaim it to be their favourite festival!
When you add up the sales of candy, costumes and decorations, it’s an industry worth almost $6 billion a year. Isn’t that incredible? $6 billion for one night, in the US alone! But is Halloween an eco-friendly celebration?
Unfortunately, with that kind of consumption comes a massive environmental impact that lasts long after everyone’s got over their sugar high.
Halloween costumes alone account for a massive 6,500 tons of landfill waste each year in the US. Just the costumes!
Then there’s all the candy wrappers, pumpkin shells, disposable plates……
So, here are EcoExpert’s best tips to make every aspect of Halloween green and eco-friendly.
Get ahead
One of the best things you can do this – and every – Halloween is to Plan Ahead. If you leave your shopping until the last minute, you won’t have as many choices. You could end up buying complete rubbish!
Costumes
Do you rush out and buy a new costume for your child or grandchild every year? And then it gets thrown away, after just one use?
Do you still have some of those adorable costumes in your attic or basement? Make a plan to swap with other moms, perhaps even organise a small get-together and have a swap-meet. Show your neighbourhood you care about reducing your demand and your landfill waste.
Look in your closet and get creative, or go to used clothing stores – often you can find unique bargains which you can then personalize. Do a quick search on the internet before to go, to get your creative juices flowing!
Then when you’re finished with the costumes, take them to the thrift store so they don’t take up space in your home, and someone else can use them next year.
The hidden dangers and environmental impact of store-bought plastic costumes are particularly nasty. Watch out for the soft vinyl–similar to shower curtain material–in many mass-produced costumes – it’s probably polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which can release dangerous chemicals. Not exactly something you want covering your face (or your child’s)–plus, it can’t be easily recycled.
Whether it’s for yourself or the kids or the grandkids, making your own costume will Reduce your demand for new stuff, dent the consumerism of the holiday, and earn you more than a few impressed glances at the office party!
Simple makeup designs and hairstyles created with natural products can give your look extra impact.
Make Up / Face Paint
Face paints and some make up products can be extremely toxic. In general, products marked as Vegan are safe for delicate young skins – and your own. If you can’t find vegan, look for products with ingredient lists that you understand!
Next: Easy ways to green Trick or Treat (and save money)!
Photo Credits: Microsoft and Microsoft/Fotolia
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I love Halloween. The Vegan face paint is a great tip.
Tidy up home storage and organization with a plan.
I love Halloween–my favorite holiday! But you raise very valid points about how much waste people create unintentionally with their actions during the holiday.
Michael
Hugh MacLeod
Wow! You think of everything!
Even Halloween consequences!
Looking forward to tomorrow!
Create a great day!
Time to Care for the Caregiver Now?
I don’t think I’ll ever look at Halloween the same again. I can’t believe how much waste it creates.
Cherie Miranda
Mantra Meditation
When our son was young and trick-or-treating we always used items we found around the house to dress him up in.
To think we were green without even realizing it.
Dennis
Rich Life Coach
Nevre thought much about the environmental concerns of Halloween, thanks for raising these points!
Mark Hogan
Clare,
You continue to share so much valuable information that, again, is not readily known – or at least given consideration. I am pretty sure that very few people were even aware that costumes make up as much waste as they do – I didn’t know that and was VERY shocked to read it. Thank you for continuing to educate us by bringing awareness to idea where little, if anything was known.
Stay Amazing and Do Great Things, Neil
I don’t think the intent was to make Halloween green but my parents would rule out the trendy, instead sticking to Dracula, Princess and such. This allowed generations in my family to wear the same home made costumes for years.
Las Vegas Air Conditioning Service & Repairs
I got an idea. Just go down to your local steakhouse and ask for one of their used burlap sacks. Go as a “Sack o’ Potatoes”…
Andrew
http://www.andrewminer.net/burnfatwhileyousleep/
Good reason to cancel Halloween altogether . Maybe not , as some people get a kick out of it .
http://johncmoulder.com/turkey-talk.html
Swapping costumes with other parents – what a great idea!!! Though my children would rather eat brocolli for Halloween treats than have a home made costume, IMO the home made costumes are always the best. great idea by Scott to go to a thrift store.
Classroom For Success
Clare, what if people went to thrift stores to purchase items to make costumes would that be considered eco friendly?
Scott Sylvan Bell
Reading body language of men
Now go implement!
Sure, absolutely Scott, thrift store, used clothing store, swapping with friends, all are green – and then taking them to the thrift store afterwards, and following through with the Trick or Treats and decor and food too, which I’ll cover in the next post……
Hi Green Goddess,
Very rarely did we purchase store bought Halloween Costumes as kids. Most of the time we made our own and maybe added a few elements of something store bought. Thanks for the reminder to plan ahead so you can more easily Go Green for Halloween!
Happy Dating and Relationships,
April Braswell
OC LDS Singles Event Halloween Dance Spooktacular
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