The average trick-or treater generates a minimum of one pound of waste from Halloween alone! 

As comes with most holidays we practice, it can be too easy to get caught up in the fun and forget our standards when it comes to being more environmentally conscious. Here are some tips for making sure you have a fun AND eco-friendly Halloween! 

Thrift your costume!

We all get excited about what character we’ll be for Halloween and as you get older, one costume becomes two, three or more! Unfortunately, this means a lot of waste and fast fashion as we often don’t consider how to reuse or repurpose items to create our spooky looks. 

If you have a black and white striped shirt, a beanie and any black pants lying around, a mime or robber could be your costume this year with no cost or item that will be forgotten right after that Halloween party!

Another great idea is to do a costume swap with your friends and family! You know what they say, another man’s trash is another’s treasure and we want to avoid any trash! 

DIY Decor

Decor can be the area where we become the most wasteful with both resources and our money. Why waste money, time and space on items you will only use once a year and have to store for the rest of the year or even worse, use for one season and then have to toss?

A great way to approach this is to set a limit for yourself and stick with ~10 items that you can use again and again for multiple things! I am a fan of orange tablecloths that can be used for Thanksgiving too as well as fake pumpkins! Another less temporary option is a fall-themed candle that you can use all fall long! 

Some popular DIY decor crafts include using old stocking with holes as spider web and construction paper or cardboard for the spider, reusing egg cartons for bats and milk jugs for skeletons! Personally, I am a fan of LED string lights that can be used for various things.

Support your local businesses

If you are going to buy real pumpkins, make sure to support your local farms! You can also go to local apple farms for apples and baked goods to support your surrounding businesses and environments. 

Shop Smart

When it comes to candy, try to stick to non-gmo products to feel guilt free! Not many people are a fan of anything open or unpackaged when it comes to trick or treating, so buying organic or non-gmo products can help reduce your impact in another way! 

Speaking of candy, let’s drop the plastic buckets and instead reuse any totes or pillow cases we have lying around at home! 

Halloween costumes from the store can be very cheaply made and with extremely harmful materials. Reduce your environmental impact by making sure anything you do buy is not harmful.

Let’s all have a spooky and clean Halloween! 

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