Halloween is not all fun and games.
After the spooky night, we have to deal with a huge amount of waste. This can impact the environment and our health.
But don’t worry, there are many ways to celebrate Halloween without harming the planet. Let’s find out how to have an eco-friendly Halloween!
Eco-Friendly Costume
Costumes are staples of Halloween as they allow us to express creativity and love for our favorite characters. Most Halloween costumes are bought/made and worn only once and end up either in the trash bin or forgotten in storage. This is not sustainable at all, and here’s how to avoid it.
Reuse Or Repurpose Your Old Costumes
Wearing the same costume as last year is certainly boring, especially in our times when everything is captured and posted on the internet. You don’t want to appear as Dracula three times in a row on your Instagram feed.
Instead of wearing the same costume every year, you can transform your old costume into something new. Use your creativity and come up with a clever solution. Maybe your old Dracula cape can become a knight’s cape with some modifications.
Swap Or Borrow Costumes
Another way to avoid wearing the same costumes every year is to swap or borrow costumes with your friends, family, or neighbors. But if you think wearing old costumes of people in your network is still repetitive, you can go a step further by trading with people online or at your local swap events.
By trading with other people, you not only get a new costume for free but also give your old costume a second chance. It’s a win-win for everyone.
Buy Second-Hand Or Sustainable Costumes
If you don’t have time for DIY Sustainable Halloween Costumes, there are some green choices available for buying. However, these options can cost a lot more than conventional cheap costumes.
Alternatively, you can buy quality yet sustainable secondhand costumes. You can go to thrift stores or online shops that sell pre-owned costumes. A tip for this is to buy your costume in advance to avoid sudden price increases due to high demand.
Use Eco-Friendly Face Paint
If you want to level up your costume by painting your face, then avoid those store-bought face paints as they can be harmful to you and the environment. Instead, you can make your own face paint using natural ingredients.
Eco-Friendly Candies
Another Halloween essential is candy. These delicious treats certainly don’t cause any harm to the planet, but their wrappers do.
Most modern candies are wrapped in plastic or foil, and we all know how bad these materials are for the environment. That is why you should pay close attention to which treats you use this Halloween.
Give Out Or Collect Candy In Bulk Or Unwrapped
Buying in bulk is always one of the best tips for eco-conscious people, for various reasons, and it also works for Halloween treats. By buying in bulk, you can wrap the treats yourself in paper or in reusable DIY containers to avoid plastic altogether.
Make Your Own Treats
Whether it’s simple chocolate cookies intricately decorated spider balls or ghost cookies, homemade treats will always be welcome and enjoyed. Because they are often fresher and can make a wonderful display of treats.
You can go up a notch by shopping for organic or fair-trade ingredients and packing them in glass containers to be extra eco-friendly.
Choose Candy With Eco-Friendly Packaging
Admittedly, not everyone will have the time to make and wrap their own candies, so a solution for you is to buy ones that have minimal or biodegradable packaging. If these candies make you overshoot your budget, then don’t worry, you can also skip candy altogether and give kids non-candy treats. These can be some toys, homemade crackers, or even popcorn.
For more information about eco-friendly Halloween treats, check out this blog: Eco-Friendly Halloween Treats
Recycle Or Upcycle Your Candy Wrappers
If you cannot do any of the above tips, then we still have something for you: Try recycling old candy wrappers. One of the best ways to recycle them is to send them to a recycling program, such as TerraCycle, and have them handled in a way that benefits the planet.
Try Biodegradable Candy Bucket
It’s easy to go to the mall and grab a bunch of those cheap plastic pumpkin candy baskets for your kids to go trick-or-treating or to put your candies to give other kids, but this is not sustainable in any way. Instead, you can use a paper bag or get creative by using pillowcases or tote bags that can carry much more candies.
Eco-Friendly Halloween Decor
Turning your house into the spookiest in the neighborhood is a great feeling, but you should also be mindful of the environmental impact of your decorations. You don’t want to end up with a lot of waste and pollution after Halloween. So here’s some ideas to work around that problem:
Repurpose Your Old Decor
Before you go on a shopping spree for your next Halloween buy, check your storage to see what you have left from last year. See what is still usable, what can fit your theme this year, or how much you can resell or donate to others. This can help you reduce the amount of waste you produce and save money on your shopping bills.
Avoid Plastic
Most of the Halloween decorations you find in the nearby mall are made from plastic, which is cheap, varied, and attractive. But from an environmental perspective, plastic is harmful to the planet and we all know why. So instead of buying plastic decorations, opt for more sustainable ones. You can search for “sustainable Halloween decorations” on Amazon or Etsy and you will find thousands of options.
Buy Organic Pumpkins
Pumpkins are the quintessential Halloween decoration but don’t just carve your pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns and throw away the rest as there are still plenty of uses for the rest of the pumpkin. For example, you can roast the pumpkin seeds and turn them into a delicious and crunchy snack or after Halloween, you can also use pumpkin to feed them to your chickens or pigs if you have any. And make sure to buy organic pumpkins, which are grown without pesticides or synthetic fertilizers.
Use Recycled Paper, Cardboard, Or Fabric
Let your imagination and creativity shine by making your own decorations. If you think going green makes your choice narrow then think again because you can still decorate your house with plenty of sustainable options like cardboard, paper, and fabric, …You can also choose environmentally friendly paint to go along with these to make the best sustainable Halloween decorations.
To get more eco-friendly Halloween decor ideas, check out this blog: Eco-Friendly Halloween Decor
Eco-Friendly Halloween Party
Halloween is not complete without some crazy parties and fun games. Going green won’t make your party boring, on the contrary, it can make your party even better than ever.
Send Invitations Online
We know that spending time designing the best Halloween invitation card and handing it out to all your friends would be amazing and show that you really care about your party, but why waste a lot of paper and ink when you can do the same thing online? You can still show your amazing creative ideas online while significantly reducing your carbon footprint.
Use Reusable Or Compostable Tableware
Plastic and disposable tableware are wasteful, considering that they can only be used once. Save yourself and the planet from a pile of plastic waste by using reusable or compostable tableware. It may mean that you have to do some cleaning after the party, but you can always ask your friends for a helping hand instead of opting for those plastic cups.
Serve Local And Organic Food And Drinks
Locally grown food is always the best, as it is fresher, healthier, and more eco-friendly. Although there are only limited choices for fall foods, with some creativity and great cooking skills, you can turn any ingredients into delicious dishes. By cooking the food yourself, you can also avoid waste by controlling the suitable portion for your guests.
Use LED Lights
Save on your electricity bills and the planet by using LED lights, which are much more energy-efficient. Alternatively, you can also use rechargeable solar-powered lights to go full-on sustainable.
Final Thought
As you can see, Halloween doesn’t always have to involve a lot of plastic or waste in the process. With some creativity and careful planning, you can always come up with a smart workaround to have an eco-friendly Halloween.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is Halloween environmentally friendly?
Halloween is not very environmentally friendly, as it generates a lot of waste, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. According to a report by Hubbub, a UK-based environmental charity, Halloween produces 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste from costumes, 18,000 tonnes of pumpkin waste, and millions of candy wrappers that end up in landfills.
2. How can we make Halloween environmentally friendly?
We can make Halloween environmentally friendly by following some sustainable Halloween tips, such as:
- Choosing or making our costumes wisely
- Being mindful of our candy choices
- Decorating our home with natural or recycled materials
- Hosting a green Halloween party
3. What are some eco-friendly Halloween treats?
There are many brands that offer sustainable and eco-friendly sweet treats like:
