Tips for a Frighteningly Greener Halloween

On 10/9/2010 4:00 AM, E - The Environmental Magazine wrote:

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October 2010 Have a Green Halloween® Decorations, Treats and Costumes that Leave a Lighter Footprint By Kara Pound Halloween may be a once-a-year celebration, but its eco-impact can last a lifetime or longer. Consider what’s left behind: throw-away decorations like those fake spider webs and dangling plastic skeletons, processed candy, plastic loot bags, one-time-use costumes and a landfill’s worth of candy wrappers. It may be good fun, but Halloween comes with an excessive carbon footprint. But that doesn’t mean you should forgo the festivities altogether. Below are some of E’s favorite ways to green your Halloween. Non-Toxic Face Pencils Paint it green with Nova Natural Toys + Crafts non-toxic face pencils made primarily from palm oil ($16). The six-pencil set comes in Basic (primary and bold colors like yellow, red, black and blue) and Fairy (pearly pastels like light blue, pink, seafoam and lilac). They’re easy to apply, easy to wash off and a great alternative to petroleum-based plastic or rubber masks. If you’re looking for costume makeup on a budget, make your own face paints with cold cream, cornstarch, water and a few drops of food coloring. www.novanatural.com Fair Trade Trick or Treat Kit Global Exchange’s Fair Trade Store sells a Trick or Treat Kit ($17.50)—an all-in-one way to celebrate the holiday and support fair wages and labor practices across the world. First launched in 2005, the Fair Trade Trick or Treat Kit includes a bag of organic dark chocolate minis to hand out to Trick or Treaters (40 pieces), a stack of Halloween postcards that detail the importance of supporting Fair Trade practices, traditional Papel Picado (punched or perforated) Mexican paper party streamers, an eco-friendly mulberry paper bag from Thailand and a “Fair Trade is Boo-tiful” poster to hang on your door. All items are Fair Trade. www.globalexchangestore.org Alpaca Knit Mask and Tail Set Oeuf, a children’s company synonymous with Fair Trade and eco-friendly, has partnered with indigenous Bolivian women to create Alpaca Knit Mask and Tail Sets ($48). Through the sale of each set, the women maintain a sustainable income that in turn allows their children to attend school. The collection, which includes your choice of giraffe, fox, zebra, leopard, raccoon, tiger, alligator or dog, are made of 100% Alpaca wool (an eco-friendly fabric) and a great, simple costume idea for kids and adults. www.oeufnyc.com Organic Gummy Bears Surprise trick-or-treaters with snack-size packs (0.9-oz.) of Surf Sweets organic gummy bears from the Natural Candy Store ($7.49 for a 10 pack). They’re made with organic sweeteners and natural ingredients like organic grape juice and organic sunflower oil and each serving offers 100% of a kid’s daily dose of Vitamin C. At only 90 calories per packet, they’re also a great treat for grown-ups. They sell individual snack-size packs of Surf Sweets Sour Berry Bears, Jelly Beans and, just in time for Halloween, Sour Worms treat packs. www.naturalcandystore.com Soy Tea Light Candles Use soy tea lights to illuminate your jack-o’-lantern and walkways. They don’t emit toxins while burning and are made from soybeans—a renewable resource. Maddison Avenue sells soy tea lights ($1.30 each) in virtually every color imaginable. Made with pure soybean wax and lead-free wicks, they are biodegradable and environmentally friendly. You can also choose between dozens of natural fragrance oils and pure essential oils. The tea light cups are non-toxic and recyclable and the soy burns cooler and slower than paraffin wax candles, which are petroleum-based. www.maddisonavenue.com Handmade Flute Necklaces Magic Cabin offers Ocarina Flute Necklaces ($11.98). Shaped and painted in black-and-white skull designs and handmade in Peru, these ceramic flutes (thought to be the oldest wind instrument) produce hauntingly unique sounds, perfect for the season. Each flute comes with a 16” cord and instructions on how to play simple songs. Ages 3 and up. www.magiccabin.com Recycled Decorations Dress up your doorway with Cardboard Safari’s recycled cardboard skull wreath ($24). Made up of 72 individual skulls, the wreath is laser-cut from recycled cardboard with slotted construction for easy assembly (the company’s non-holiday offerings include layered cardboard moose mounts and rhinos that are put together in 3-D puzzle fashion). The company recycles the small amount of scrap cardboard that is produced. Of course, when you’re finished, the wreath can also be recycled. And the “bone white” color makes it easy for kids to decorate and bedazzle. www.eco-artware.com Reusable Loot Bags Experts say that a standard plastic bag will take between 500-1,000 years to decompose. Instead, stash your loot in reusable nylon or polyester bags. ChicoBag offers an orange jack-o’-lantern bag and a limited-edition design from their Green Halloween® contest winner ($4.99). Green Halloween®—a nonprofit initiative launched in Seattle in 2007 to promote a healthier, more eco-friendly Halloween—has since become a nationwide movement. And ChicoBag is donating 10% of sales from its Halloween bags to the EcoMom Alliance, a nonprofit empowering women to take environmental action. www.chicobag.com By Kara Pound, an E Magazine freelance writer living in Florida. A Free Service of E-The Environmental Magazine Home | Subscribe | Advertise | About Us | Contact | Privacy Policy

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