Dear Terra,
We LOVE Halloween! Can we be earth-friendly and still go wild?
Hyper for Halloween
Dear Hyper for Halloween,
We love Halloween, too, but not at the expense of our world. Americans will spend over $8 billion on Halloween this year on cheap, plastic, disposable, packaging-heavy trash. What to do?
~Decorations–Use natural materials like cornstalks or decorate with items you already have.
(Picture by flickr.com.)
~Pumpkins–Commercially grown ones often use pesticides and are shipped long distances. Look for locally grown pumpkins, organic preferred!
~Costumes–Often made cheaply with excess plastic/packaging, they fall apart quickly and have a huge carbon footprint. Most are made in countries with poor labor standards, poor environmental regulations and are shipped long distances to us. Pollution trifecta! Start checking thrift shops and your closet for costumes or items to create your own (check Pinterest!); borrow from a friend; have a costume swap; rent one! Skip the plastic pumpkin or bucket! Bring a classic pillowcase, paper bag or reusable bag.
~Make-Up–Halloween make-up may contain contaminants and toxins, especially cheap ones. Raid your own make-up stash (or grandma’s!) or look up homemade make-up ideas.
~Candy–Today, apples and homemade caramel corn frowned on, so what to do? Look for minimal packaging, to start. We all love chocolate but be aware that according to the U.S. Dept of Agriculture, 2+ million children in Africa work in hazardous conditions growing cacao. The cheaper the chocolate, the more likely they used child labor. Yikes!
Check the links below for fair trade/ethical chocolate companies. Equal Exchange, sold by Covanent UMC’s sister church ministry team, is included! Non-candy treats are fun but avoid the cheap plastic items that will be lost/tossed in a day or two.
https://www.worldvision.ca/no-child-for-sale/resources/fair-trade-chocolate-guide
https://www.greenamerica.org/end-child-labor-cocoa/chocolate-scorecard
Happy Haunting,
Terra