eco-friendly tips for a more sustainable halloween
Because Halloween can also be green!
Bonus? You can easily turn each of these tips into post and story ideas for your sustainable brand’s social media!
Having grown up in Texas, I have such fond memories of dressing up & trick-or-treating for Halloween (some of my fav costumes included: ? ?♀️ ? ?♀️ ☮️)… So I’m thrilled that Halloween parties are slowly becoming more of a thing here in France too (and I found 2 to go to ?).
However, Halloween accounts for a significant amount of spending worldwide, especially in the US, UK, and Canada.
Additionally, according to the National Retail Federation in the US, social media has a significant role in Halloween purchases while total estimated consumer spending is around $10.14 billion! This Marketplace article also has some great information on Halloween’s environmental impact, if you want to dive deeper into this topic.
All the more reason to share eco-friendly Halloween tips, on and off social media!
So in the spirit of the spooky season, here are some of my favorite tips for a more eco-friendly Halloween :
? USE ALL OF YOUR PUMPKIN
Did you know that, according to the World Economic Forum, an average of 18 000 TONS of pumpkin are wasted every year for Halloween? That is a lot of unnecessary food waste for such a delicious gourd.
To help cut down on that waste, the ideal solution would be to opt out of Halloween pumpkins altogether, or at least to avoid carving a pumpkin, as that will make it decay much faster. However, if you do want a jack-o-lantern this year, this New York Times article has some helpful tips to make your pumpkin last longer (like cutting a hole in the bottom instead of the top, for starters).
If you’re like me and enjoy having a couple of little (uncarved) pumpkins in your home in the fall, the key is to then use them in recipes before they go bad, like:
- Adding your pumpkin flesh to soups, hummus, cookies, cakes, pies, pancakes… so many possibilities!
- Roasting your pumpkin seeds! Try making them savory (salt & chili is my favorite), sweet (try honey & cinnamon) or mix them into some homemade granola.
- Even your pumpkin peels can be delicious as crispy fried chips.
- You can also compost whatever’s left over (if anything!)
? MAKE YOUR OWN TREATS – and get creative with presentation
- ? Chop up a black olive and make it look like a spider on a cracker
- ? Make ghost- or ☠️ bone-shaped merengues
- ? Split a cookie in half and add some small marshmallows between them to look like a mouth with teeth
- ? Add some activated charcoal to make things black (like a cream cheese frosting) or matcha to make things green (like cookies) without using food coloring
Here are some additional spooky foodie ideas I saved on Pinterest.
I also love this post from The Good Green filled with great treat tips, including organic fruit snacks, non-toxic temporary tattoos, beeswax crayons, boxed candy, and more:
?♀️ THRIFT YOUR COSTUMES (IDEALLY IN YOUR OWN CLOSET)
Did you know that, according to a 2019 UK survey, 83% of the material in the 300+ Halloween costumes surveyed oil-based plastic, representing around 83 million Coca-Cola bottles in waste?!
If you already have Halloween costumes, as always, the most sustainable option is the one already in your closet/home. However, if you don’t have a costume to wear this year but still want to get dressed up, you could either borrow one from someone you know, rent one, buy one second-hand, or my personal favorite: transform some of your ‘normal’ clothes & accessories into a costume! Instagram, Pinterest & YouTube can be great places to get your inspiration flowing.
Some of my go-to’s are ? hippie flower child, ?? 80s glam rock, ? 90s grunge, ?️♀️ film noir detective… I even crafted a “1950s zombie housewife” look for a Halloween zoom call with friends during quarantine in 2020 and turned it into a TikTok video ?, complete with oatmeal raisin cookies colored with matcha & mangosteen powder to make red & green pumpkin-shaped cookies naturally ???.
Want even more tips? This Greenpeace Canada article has several more, including using reusable fabric bags to collect your treats, upcycling or thrifting your Halloween decor, and how we can reimagine Halloween candy.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN, MY FRIENDS!
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