Turning your Halloween Green!
Oct 25, 2021
Whether or not you are someone who loves haunted houses there is one thing that doesn’t have to give you a fright this spooky season; your consumption habits! Instead of focusing on the typical black and orange, why not add a little green? Being more eco-conscious this Halloween doesn’t mean you can’t have fun and be creative.
Here are some tips to help reduce your environmental footprint this Halloween (and maybe even save you some money while doing it).
Costume Choice:
Did you know that thousands of tonnes of single-use costumes are discarded annually?
- Make your own: Do you, or anyone else in your household have any old clothes they no longer wear? Try turning those into a costume.
[DIY Childrens Costumes: https://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/make-and-decorate/decorating/easy-homemade-halloween-costumes-for-kids-pictures] - Swap get together : Consider swapping costumes from a previous Halloween with a friend. Does your community or school have a facebook page? Encourage a time and date for parents and youth to come together to share costumes.
- Buy Used: There are a number of online buy and sell groups filled with people looking to get rid of some perfectly good (and some unused) costumes!
- Theme party: Thinking of hosting a Halloween party? Encourage others to go green by having a theme or contest that encourages creativity. costume contest, BUT make it interesting, have everyone create their own costume and the person with the most creative, handmade costume wins!
Decorating:
Half the fun of Halloween is getting your house or classroom decorated for the holiday.
- Avoid Single Use:When doing this, try to avoid single-use, plastic decorations or halloween accessories like glow sticks or lights.
- Buy more long-lasting decorations, or even better, make your own! From bats made out of recycled egg cartons, to witches brooms made out of twigs, the opportunities to get creative and make your own decorations are endless! [Home Decor: https://www.care2.com/causes/9-eco-friendly-ways-to-decorate-your-house-for-halloween.html]
- While you’re at it, skip the plastic/garbage bag to take Trick-or-Treating, try making a cool, one-of-a-kind bag! Decorate an old pillowcase, or turn an old t-shirt into a sac for your candy. Try to avoid buying cheap plastic pumpkins or buckets, an added bonus is that your DIY bag can be as big as you want, meaning even more candy! [DIY Candy bag: https://www.diys.com/candy-bags-for-halloween/]
Buy Local!
No Halloween is complete without picking out the perfect pumpkin to put beside your door.
- Make picking out your pumpkin a family outing and head to a local pumpkin patch or farmers market
- Try growing your own at home!
When Halloween is over, look into local initiatives that collect pumpkins (such as: https://www.wallflowersanctuary.org/) , add them to your compost, or even try to make a bird feeder out of them! [ https://www.farmersalmanac.com/pumpkin-bird-feeder-133746]
Get Active!
Halloween is the perfect opportunity to get outside and explore your neighbourhood.
- Leave the car at home this Halloween and go Trick-or-Treating on foot. If, for circumstances beyond your control you have to take a car, park it somewhere and tour the neighbourhood
- Take a post-Halloween walk! A few days after Halloween take another walk around your neighbourhood, equipped with a garbage bag and gloves and pick up any trask that may be left over from Halloween. It’s a great way to get outside AND help clean up your community.
These are just a few of the simple ways you can reduce your consumption this Halloween. Did you think of even more ways to reduce your environmental footprint this Halloween? Share them with us on social media!
Reference List
Resources:
https://www.farmersalmanac.com/pumpkin-bird-feeder-133746
https://www.wallflowersanctuary.org/
[DIY Candy bag: https://www.diys.com/candy-bags-for-halloween/]
Home Decor: https://www.care2.com/causes/9-eco-friendly-ways-to-decorate-your-house-for-halloween.html]
DIY Childrens Costumes: https://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/make-and-decorate/decorating/easy-homemade-halloween-costumes-for-kids-pictures]
https://www.rcbc.ca/files/u7/131018_RCBC%20Halloween%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
https://green.harvard.edu/tools-resources/green-tip/6-tips-greener-halloween