Tips to Re-Green Halloween

As a kid who loved playing dress-up, I was always pretty jazzed about Halloween. It’s a shame it’s become so single-use and plastic-filled in recent years because it has the potential to be a supremely green holiday! Halloween—at least the non-scary side of it—is all about being creative. It’s about turning one thing into something else.

So whether that's...

• turning last year’s bedsheet ghost costume into this year’s Princess Leia dress,
• turning cardboard boxes into tombstones,
• or turning Halloween pumpkins into Thanksgiving pies...

Let's summon the ghosts of holidays past, give our stuff a second life, and re-green Halloween! Here are some tips to do that:

 Costumes

• Get creative with things you already have
  
• Ask friends to borrow items you don’t have
• Look at items you don’t wear or want to get rid of anyway; is there a way to turn one into a costume?
• Check out thrift stores
• Have a costume swap
• Repurpose old costumes or pieces of costumes
  (for another year, for siblings, etc.)
• Encourage generic and evergreen costumes rather than specific popular characters
• Search online for DIY costume ideas (there’s a LOT you can do with a little paint and a cardboard box!)   
• Rent a costume instead of buying one 

 Decorations

• Reuse decorations from year to year
• Go to thrift stores; they are FULL of all the fall décor you could need!
• Make your own decorations with items from nature (pumpkins, straw, leaves) or things you have on hand (cardboard tombstones, bedsheets ghosts, spider webs from produce netting...)
• If you do buy something new, support local makers
• Buy locally grown pumpkins
• Use the whole pumpkin (roast the seeds, cook the fruit) or compost it

 Treats

• Opt for no- or low-packaging items when you can
  • Bulk candy can sometimes be easier to find than other bulk goods; buying pre-wrapped bulk candy will at least save you the outer plastic bag
  • Consider foil-covered candy or candy packed in cardboard (like Dots and Milk Duds)
• Choose fair trade and sustainably produced chocolate when possible
  • Check out the options for mini organic chocolate bars at the grocery store; there may be more choices than you think
• Consider non-candy options for Trick-or-Treaters...but avoid giving out little plastic junk!
• Offer homemade or locally made treats when possible
• Bring candy and snack wrappers to Full Circle to TerraCycle

 Events

• Serve finger foods at parties to avoid the need for utensils
• If you do need utensils (and cups and dishes), use reusables!
• If you feel safe doing so, walk around your neighborhood instead of driving somewhere to Trick-or-Treat
• Reuse treat bags from year to year

What additional tips do you have? Share your ideas with us (and readers of future posts) at info@fullcirclesustainability.org!

-Justine