Halloween can be a challenging holiday for people with eco-friendly lifestyles. There are many ways it adds pollution to the planet – but you don’t have to contribute this year. Have fun without harming the environment by reading these tips about having a healthy and sustainable Halloween.
1. Bake Treats at Home
Snacking on your favorite candy can be a fun part of Halloween, but it’s not good for your health. Eating a diet high in sugar increases your cancer risk by 60–95%, so consider choosing healthy homemade treats over candy this year.
Desserts like sugar-free caramel apples, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin spice granola bars will protect your health and the environment. You won’t have to toss plastic single-use wrappers into the trash can with each serving, which keeps more plastic out of landfills and makes for a more sustainable Halloween.
2. Make Your Halloween Costumes
Browsing endless Halloween costumes online is fun, but use them as inspiration and not a shopping guide. When someone makes an online purchase, shipping companies use fossil fuels to transport goods by air, sea, and land. The excess carbon dioxide causes numerous global warming effects, such as:
- Rising temperatures
- Ocean water acidification
- Rising sea levels
- Extreme weather events
You can easily recreate your desired costumes with a sewing machine. Get the fabric and supplies when you have a free afternoon to put everything together. You could also hire a local tailor to make a custom order.
3. Find All-Natural Face Paint
Without face paint, you can’t dress up as a clown or the Wicked Witch of the West. Before heading to your local costume shop, think twice about which paints you’ll use. Traditional face paints are safe for your skin, but you’ll wash them off after going home for the night. The colors will drain into the environment, introducing chemicals into the water system that don’t naturally biodegrade.
It’s always possible to make eco-friendly face paint with natural ingredients. Check out recipes that create the colors you need and add the prep time to your Halloween schedule.
4. Walk Around Your Neighborhood
Sometimes families drive their kids around neighborhoods in a trailer full of hay bales. It’s a fun way to cover more ground on Halloween, but it also requires burning fossil fuels. Stick with walking between houses this year to prevent adding additional carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. You can also bike between houses if it’s safe with your costume.
5. Compost Your Pumpkins
Getting pumpkins from local farmers is an annual tradition for many families. Enjoy making toasted pumpkin seeds and desserts from the insides after carving them into fun faces.
When your Halloween fun ends and the pumpkins begin to rot, toss them into your compost bin. They’re biodegradable, but it’s helpful to remove any seeds and cut the pumpkin into chunks to help it compost faster.
6. Donate Your Supplies
Donate your remaining household or yard items this November if you want new decorations for Halloween each year. People will search thrift stores for seasonal deals they can reuse next year. Help them out by donating and you’ll prevent your Halloween supplies from adding to local landfill waste.
You can also give your family’s costumes to a thrift store if they aren’t ripped or stained. Single-use costumes are another source of environmental waste, but not if they get reused next year. Thrift stores will help your costume find families in need so they can wear them for other seasonal events throughout the year.
Have A Healthy And Green Halloween
Anyone can have a healthy and sustainable Halloween this year by implementing tips like these. Think about how you can eat more nutritious treats, minimize your environmental impact, and clean up after Halloween ends to plan an eco-friendly holiday that everyone will enjoy.
