Alternatives For a Green Halloween
- Edugreen Intl.
- Oct 23, 2021
- 4 min read
Halloween is an event millions of Americans enjoy celebrating each year, from the extravagant costumes, yummy candy, and spooky decorations. However, it is safe to say that Halloween requires much consumption. In fact, each person who celebrates Halloween spends an average of 86.79 dollars each year which altogether creates a large sum of 8.8 billion dollars across the nation. Taking into account the considerable amount of money spent on excessive goods each year, it is important to think of ways to save not only money, but the environment as well this Halloween. Thinking green when choosing costumes, candy, and decorations can save money and help the environment. As one of the main aspects of Halloween, many people are willing to throw away lots of money to buy costumes. The typical, low-quality costumes are made of synthetic fibers that commonly contribute to fossil fuel emissions and excessive water consumption when produced. Not to mention, the low quality of the costumes only allow the consumer to wear it a few times, then to be discarded into heaps of accumulated waste. A great way to avoid contributing to these issues is by thrifting, swapping, or making your own recycled costumes. Most local thrift stores have a Halloween section with a wide variety of costumes. Thrifting clothes helps prevent an excessive amount of Halloween costumes ending up in the dump; after all, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure! If thrifting isn’t ideal, swapping past years’ Halloween costumes with a friend helps reduce waste as well. Lastly, recycling materials around the house to make a costume not only reduces waste, but helps one tap into their creative side also. The possibilities are endless: scrap construction paper may turn into cat ears, old sheets may turn into a ghost, and many more. Any of these three options; thrifting, swapping, or creating; save money in addition to saving the planet! It is truly a win-win situation. The highlight of a child’s Halloween night, roughly 2.7 billion dollars is spent on candy each year. That’s a whopping amount of candy. Unfortunately, the majority of Halloween candy is wrapped in plastic. Plastic adds harmful toxins to the planet when produced and has the potential to choke an animal. There is a way to still give out fun treats, however. Although candy is the conventional route, giving out little items such as seashells, glass beads, worry dolls, and yarn bracelets make kids just as happy and are a sustainable alternative. Not to mention, some goodies can be handmade, therefore saving money. If staying on the traditional route with edible treats, look for organic, dye-free, and recycled or no plastic options. Alter-Eco Chocolate Minis, Unreal Candy, and Endangered Species Chocolate Organic Bites are examples of some sustainable treats. The alternative treats are environmentally friendly, and little objects are long-lasting! Either way, choosing one of these alternatives saves the environment harm and is much more sustainable. Now, what would Halloween be without decorations to set the spooky mood? Plastic skeletons, inflatables, streamers, and more are common Halloween decorations. They can be scary, no doubt, but the harm these plastic decorations do to the environment might just be scarier. Considering that roughly 2.7 billion dollars are spent each year on decorations, it can be concluded that a lot of plastic is manufactured and consumed. The toxins from plastic production pollute the environment, and plastic can easily be mistaken for food by land and sea animals when littered among the earth. Since Halloween decorations are typically of low quality and put up for around only a month each year, their utility is low and many decorations tend to be thrown out after one use. Once in landfills, plastic decorations can take up to 1000 years to decompose! That being said, sustainable decoration alternatives are the right choice for this Halloween. It is best for one to make their own decorations using recycled materials or materials around the house. One idea is to use non-toxic paint and wood to make standees of monsters, skeletons, graves, and ghosts. Using scrap paper and yarn to make spiders and spider webs is an alternative as well. These ideas recycle; therefore, they save money. In addition, making decorations promotes creativity and can be loads of fun. Before stocking up on candy, picking out a packaged costume, or hanging countless plastic streamers this Halloween, it is important to consider the environmental impacts of the purchases. Most Halloween costumes are made of slow-decomposing synthetic fiber and their production accounts for fossil fuel emissions and excessive water consumption. Thrifting, swapping, or creating costumes are much more sustainable and cheaper alternatives. Billions of candy is given out each year, most of them containing some plastic component. To avoid buying toxin-releasing and slow-decomposing plastic-containing candy, give out environmentally-friendly items or organic treats made with recycled or no plastic. Lastly, steer clear of plastic decorations and open up a world of creative possibilities by making Halloween decorations. Excessive consumption of plastic and other harmful materials around Halloween time is unnecessary; there are many cheaper and greener alternatives. After all, ghosts and monsters should be the spook factor of Halloween, not a low bank account and poor environment.
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