Eco-Conscious Costume Tips

The average Canadian spends $52 a year on a Halloween costume. Most commercial costumes being sold are made of cheap plastics containing flame retardant chemicals and are exported from other countries like China. These costumes are often not made to last past a use or two, and the majority end up in landfills. Canada has a low rate of textile recycling, with 85% of textiles ending up in landfills or scattered in the environment leaching out chemicals and taking hundreds of years to break down. Solutions?

·DIY: It can be super fun to upcycle something you already have or create a completely new look out of recycled materials. Look in your closet and see if you have something laying around that you can transform into a whole new look, rather than purchasing new!

·Vintage/second hand: You can find lots of cool vintage items at thrift shops- take something old and reuse it! Check out places like Kijiji, Facebook marketplace or buy nothing groups where you can find second-hand costumes for a fraction of the price (sometimes even free!). Be cautious with buying second-hand during the pandemic- always air out items and/or wash them before use.

· Swap/trade: Someone in your circle looking for a new costume? Lend or swap one!

· Buy ethically: When purchasing new costumes think about the durability/materials used. Buy ethical or local products, it really makes a difference!

Sustainable Decorations

Many Halloween decorations are used once, and then go straight to landfill. Most Halloween decorations are made of cheap, single use plastic and last far longer than they are used.

· Natural Décor: Pumpkins, gourds, hay, sticks, leaves, long decorative grass

·  Reuse: reusable candles for jack-o-lanterns, solar lights, durable annual decorations

· DIY Decorations: Jack-o-lanterns, DIY scarecrow/monster

· Are all those lights, blow up decorations and smoke machines worth it? These decorations often use energy and can disrupt the natural habitat of other organisms in the area.

· Go vintage/second hand: Vintage Halloween decorations can both be affordable and have spookier results.

· Buy Local: Get your natural décor from local farms or support a local shop before ordering something online!

Do’s – create your own decorations out of recycled materials, decorate with reusable materials, rather than buy a plastic bucket for candy- use a pillowcase or reusable bag, if you carve pumpkins- either put them in the compost when you’re done with it, or take it to a local farm (some farms take pumpkin donations to feed farm animals).

Don’ts- synthetic spider webs, streamers, balloons, confetti, glitter, sequins, caution tape, toilet paper, silly string, painted pumpkins or gourds

Eco-Friendly Treats

Most Halloween candies are not sustainably produced and contain some questionable ingredients. Cheap chocolates like those commonly given out at Halloween, are made of cocoa beans that are unethically sourced. These candies often contain palm oil, which is a very harmful controversial product in its own as it leads to deforestation, habitat loss, and pollution. Mini Halloween candy is packaged in small single-portion packs, resulting in tons of single-use plastic waste each year.

· Buy ethical/fair trade: Many Halloween candies are made with cheap, unethically sourced cocoa, which has been connected to many human rights issues like unsafe, forced or child labor. These candies also contain unsustainable products like palm oil, GMO’s, or harmful chemicals. There are some fair trade or ethically sourced candies out there- do your research before purchasing.

· Homemade snacks for a distanced Halloween: Since people are being advised not to trick-or-treat due to COVID, it is a good reason to make some fun homemade Halloween snacks. Check out Pinterest for some cool ideas

·  Get the full-sized products and ditch the mini candy: more candy + less packaging= win-win

· Local food: Businesses are struggling with the pandemic- get some local foods and support a small business!

Halloween Pandemic Addition: What can we do?

With COVID, 2020’s Halloween is going to look a lot different than any other year. So, what can we do to have a safe, fun, spooky, and sustainable Halloween?

· Spooky movie night in: have a night binging spooky movies or Halloween episodes of your favourite shows!

· Candy scavenger hunt: decorate your home, do low lighting, and hide some treats. You can put on some spooky music and get your kids to use flashlights to search for their treats!

· Pumpkin carving

· Visit family: Kids not liking the idea of not going trick-or-treating? Visit family and have them prepare some treats

· Spooky baking: Make some fun spooky treats together- Pinterest has some awesome Halloween recipe ideas!

· Outdoor Movie Night: Projector? Have a distanced outdoor movie night with your circle!

· Spooky Paint Night: Distanced or with a friend- try a spooky themed paint night!

· Zoom Halloween Party: Dress up, have snacks, drinks, and get your spook on (responsibly)! 

·Virtual Halloween Events: Some cool virtual Halloween events are going on- podcast ‘live’ shows, online music, stand up comedy, etc.

· Halloween Crafts: Make some fun Halloween crafts, or get on those DIY costumes and decorations! Pinterest again has so many ideas!

·  Spooky “stockings”: Stockings aren’t only for Christmas- do something different and make a Halloween stocking, stuffing it with treats, toys or other Halloween stuff! Designing a spooky stocking could be another fun family activity.

References

https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/10-green-halloween-tips

https://www.wwf.org.au/news/blogs/sustainable-halloween-ideas#gs.iiah8n

https://theecohub.ca/a-comprehensive-guide-on-how-to-make-halloween-eco-friendly/

https://gradesofgreen.org/tips-environmentally-friendly-halloween/