HOw tO havE a grEEn HallOwEEn

What’s scarier than Halloween itself? The amount of waste generated in the US during Halloween season! Here are 5 frightening statistics:

• In the US, the “total Halloween spending in 2024 is expected to reach $11.6 billion.”

• Nearly 600 million pounds of Halloween candy is bought each year in the U.S., which comes out to an unimaginable amount of candy wrapper waste. Most candy wrappers are not biodegradable and can take 10–20 years to decompose.

• Almost 85% of Halloween costumes end up in landfills, and many store-bought costumes are made from non-biodegradable materials. 

• 18,000 pumpkins are sent to rot in toxic landfills that release greenhouse gases into the air.

• The World Economic Forum claims that more than $400 million of uneaten candy gets tossed every year.

Here’s a TikTok showing how my friend Anna found all this Halloween merchandise in the trash. She’s better known as “The Trash Walker,” because she goes through the trash around NYC, observing how much people, schools and companies throw away. She’s discovered that retailers often destroy items that are no longer in style or season, even if they are still usable!

So what can you do to minimize waste this Halloween? Let’s break it down by category:

COSTUMES

If I don’t have a costume I want to wear again - I have a strawberry costume that I’ve worn 4 times - I try to get creative and put together a character with clothing I already have, supplemented with secondhand, borrowed or handmade accessories. Here are some DIY costume ideas!

And anyway, limitations are better for creativity! Too many options can be overwhelming. This year I’m going to be Carmen San Diego because I have a red trench coat, black boots, a briefcase and a hat. The hat isn’t red, but I think people will get it? I’ll share a photo post Halloween.

If you don’t have ideas from things you have at home, buying secondhand costumes from your local thrift shops, consignment stores, and yard sales or online from eBay, etsy, Poshmark, etc. helps divert these things from landfills, and also will cost you less than brand new from chain stores. And sometimes these places sell brand new things as well. And to really save $, you could also check out your local Buy Nothing Facebook Group or swap and share things with your friends and family.

2000

first time I wore the costume

2023

4th time I wore the costume

My amazing neighbor who I used to babysit, who would spend months making his costume by hand

MAKEUP

Another creative path to go down, is more minimal outfit and full on with the makeup. I’ll go into more detail about clean makeup in a future blog post, but some of my favorite brands are:

• Axiology

• Elate Cosmetics

• River Organics

• Fat and the Moon

• Izzy Zero Waste Beauty

• And now you can even buy non-toxic face paint and biodegradable glitter!

TREATS

Conventional candy has a dark side: child labor, environmental degradation, lack of transparency, lack of corporate responsibility and general waste.

“The true cost of chocolate production has been externalized and paid by cocoa-producing communities in the service of profit for a few at the expense of many— leading to wide-spread ecological destruction, climate instability, poverty, worker exploitation, child labor, and even slavery,” said Gero Leson, Vice President of Special Operations at Dr. Bronner’s. 

If you want to get conventional candy, find it in bulk or choose the ones in cardboard boxes like smarties instead of chocolate bars.

I prefer organic or at least candy without chemicals. The Natural Candy Shop is a great resource for mindful brands and here’s also an article with links to my favorite brands. 

You could also buy locally made foods, candies and treats.

Or make your own! In terms of Trick-or-Treaters, consider offering other things besides candy such as secondhand or vintage toys & trinkets, small pumpkins or oranges with drawn on jack-o-lantern faces, erasers or temporary tattoos.

DECORATIONS

Here are some DIY ideas! But if you already have decorations, be sure to reuse them each year, just as you might with Christmas ornaments or menorahs.

If you’re looking to start your Halloween collection, buy secondhand decor from your local thrift shops, consignment stores, and yard sales or online from eBay, etsy, Poshmark, etc. which helps divert these things from landfills, and also will cost you less than brand new from chain stores. And sometimes these places sell brand new things as well. And to really save $, you could also check out your local Buy Nothing Facebook Group or swap and share things with your friends and family.

One summer I interned at The Paper Bag Players, an amazing children’s theater company based in NYC, where they make all their costumes and sets from common household objects, cardboard boxes and brown craft paper brightened with splashes of poster paint. Paper bags and Kraft paper are usually cheap or even free, so I definitely recommend getting some and seeing what decor you can create yourself.

PUMPKINS

If you buy pumpkins to make jack-o-lanterns or just want them plain as decor, try and buy from local farms or farmers' markets and compost them after use. However if you paint or use marker on them, you cannot compost them unless you fully remove the dye or paint. Unless the marker or paint is plant based.

TRICK-OR-TREAT BAGS

If you have one of those classic plastic pumpkin buckets or a different sort of bag, reuse it each year. If you don’t already have a bag, let your child be creative and decorate a bag you already have, or a pillowcase or another sort of container that complements their costume.

PARTIES

A lot of waste from parties is due to buying disposable cups, plates and cutlery. But these days, you can find fun dishware at local thrift shops or online at a very cheap price! Or just use your usual wares, and decorate the space in other ways or simply prepare festive food and drinks.

Have other ideas or tips? Please comment below!

xx Hannah