This could very well be my favorite time of the year. Although I did have a great time writing about the spring season with 22 Earth-Friendly Outdoor Activities for Spring. And, yeah I know, the winter holidays are great with candles, nutmeg and family. And maybe some of you love the fireworks, backyard grills and patriotism of July 4th, but I always found more common ground with Jack the Pumpkin King. No other holiday comes quite close to the magic of Halloween. Best of all, even though this spooky holiday has always been associated with orange and black, that doesn’t mean that you can’t paint this year green. The really scary stories begin to emerge if we don’t. So grab your hot apple cider and peruse my list of the top 22 ways from around the web to green your Halloween this fall. Muuuuahaha!
- Skip the costume rush this autumn and throw a little creativity into the pot to make your own Halloween costumes. Often just things hiding in the back of your closet, your trash can, or a thrift store are bursting with possibilities. For inspiration check out these cardboard box ideas from Inhabitat.
- Save your skin and the environment and paint on some organic, non-toxic makeup from Luna Organics.
- A personal favorite of mine, and a tactic that I have employed more than once, Trail’s Edge offers up some interesting ways to use your outdoor gear to create a costume that was meant to go outside.
- Inspire others and voice your opinion with an eco-message pumpkin. Try carving out the earth, a tree or the recycle sign.
- Carry around a reusable tote or pillow case to hold your candy instead of a plastic bag. Those grocery bags were never big enough or strong enough to handle my loot anyways.
- Hand out sustainable treats likes the fair trade chocolate gold coins from Divine or the unique and natural Ginger People Ginger Chews.
- Set the mood with some eco decorations like these fair trade skeleton streamers that are handmade in Mexico.
- O.K. I already said this, but there are so many great costume ideas! Here are some more from the Eco News Network.
- The Green Girls offer instructions for making your own organic face paint for the true DIYers.
- Watch one of these green Halloween movies from Alternative Consumer’s list to get you in the mood.
- Browse Etsy for unique handmade costumes and beautiful decorations.
- Try to find a Halloween costume swap in your area. Although National Costume Swap Day is October 8th, there are still many locations that have decided to hold their swaps later in the month.
- EcoKaren talks about how she made her very own solar powered, reusable jack-o-lantern. No more pumpkin guts to clean up the next morning that always results in fist shaking and profanity.
- Use a hand crank or solar powered flashlight for battery-free safety when the sun goes down.
- Compost your used pumpkins and uneaten candy!
- Carefully pack away decorations so you can use them again next year. R is for reuse.
- Decorate with LED lights. They last forever and are incredibly energy efficient!
- Do some reverse trick-or-treating by attaching a Global Exchange flier to some fair trade chocolate to build awareness about the problems facing the cocoa industry.
- Skip the toxic paraffin wax candles in your jack-o-lanterns and look for organic, soy-based candles that last longer too.
- Be resourceful with your pumpkins. Add some salt and bake the seeds. Cook the flesh. Here are ten ways to use a pumpkin for some inspiration.
- Reuse candy wrappers for crafts. Make candy wrapper jewelry or cover the front of a journal.
- Skip the candy all together and hand out useful items like soy-based crayons, seed packets or stickers of endangered animals.
I know that there are a million other ways out there to green your Halloween. What are some of your ideas?
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Image Credit: Amazon, Luna Organics, EcoKaren, Peter Hughes
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