How to Plan an Eco-Friendly Halloween

Halloween is notoriously one of the most wasteful holidays because just about everything is wrapped in plastic and designed for single-use. From costumes and decorations to candy and parties, Halloween can take a toll on the environment.

However, with a little planning, it’s possible to participate in Halloween fun without creating all the waste!

Hand out plastic-free treats

There is a movement to replace candy treats with healthier alternatives, but this often means families are giving out plastic—and sometimes toxic—throwaway treats like glowsticks, plastic toys and juice boxes.

Instead, hand out eco-friendly treats that inspire creativity:

• Paper folding fortune tellers
• Origami animal shapes
• Felted wool animals
• Pencils and erasers
• Riddles on paper
• Small homemade books
• Seed packets

Make your costumes

Store-bought costumes are not only usually disposable, but they can sometimes contain dangerous chemicals and toxic flame retardants. Also look for alternatives to traditional face paints, and see the results of a report that tested 48 Halloween face paints for heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium and lead. You don’t have to know how to sew to put together creative homemade Halloween costumes. Find out how to make eco-friendly costumes from things you have around the house by visiting our Pinterest board.

Use plastic-free treat bags

Forgo the plastic pumpkin bucket and use a cotton or recycled plastic treat bag that also doubles as a lunch bag. They’re the perfect sustainable party favor too.

Use earth-friendly decorations

It’s much more fun to spend an afternoon with your kids making decorations out of fabric or recycled paper rather than going to the party store. Black construction paper bats, cheesecloth spider webs, candelabras, old branches and vintage decorations can be used over and over again. Use old clothes to make a newspaper-stuffed headless man for your front porch. And don’t forget to compost your pumpkins when Halloween is over. See our Halloween Pinterest board for some DIY eco-friendly decorating ideas.