Tip #93 Trick Or Treat

When it comes to Halloween, ethical and sustainable practice doesn’t exactly spring to mind. But the amount of waste that a single holiday can generate is mind-blowing: from clumsy single-use costumes to plastic candy wrappers, to mass-produced decorations.

Halloween doesn’t just have a huge impact on the environment, either⁠—it also takes a massive toll on our wallets. In 2019, Americans collectively spent a whopping $8.8 billion on Halloween festivities. That's scary (source).

Here are a few tips for having a green Halloween:
1. Costumes
The biggest carbon footprint from Halloween comes from the millions of poor-quality, fast fashion costumes that are mass-produced every year. Most are made from unsustainable materials such as polyester and conventional cotton and are manufactured in countries that have poor labour standards such as China. Worst of all, many often don’t last more than a day before they start falling apart. You should definitely check out some ideas in your local second-hand store, as they usually have around this time of the year plenty of options for you.

2. Decoration
Get a pumpkin from your local farmer's market and carve it on your own. You can make a little family or friends gathering and you can make it together. It's fun and it will get bigger value - it's a true piece of art. And you don't have to stay with the pumpkin only. There are plenty of DIY projects that you can get hands-on.
Otherwise, if you want to get some decoration for your house, choose those ones, that you can reuse over the years.

3. Treats
Try to use those candies that are not packed in the non-recyclable wrapping paper or the ones that use palm oil. There are plenty of alternatives, that you can use. Or even better, why don't you make your own treats? From cookies, lollies or candies, it all can be fun.

Sometimes we get so overwhelmed by this one day holiday, but why don't we just slow down and if we truly want to celebrate it, let's take the preparation into your hands and make the DIY preparation part of the process.