Happy Halloween!
Nothing is more frightening than a planet full of plastic and waste! Today to make this occasion we want to bring you some awesome Halloween decorating and celebrating ideas that are eco-friendly. It’s time to ditch plastics and fast fashion in favour of something sustainable. Some of these are classics and some are new.
Pumpkins, Jack-0-Lantarns and Gords
The time-tested and true Halloween decoration is the pumpkin and the good! They are a natural and sustainable product that is great to decorate with. As the story goes the first Jack-O-Lantards were carved out of turnips and beets in early Ireland and England. This practice was based on the legend of Stingy Jack who was cursed to roam the earth for eternity with only a piece of coal in a hollowed-out turnip to light his way. Nowadays we use carved pumpkins and warty gourds to decorate for fall and Halloween! Pick up a pumpkin or gourd from a local farmer for a fully sustainable and biodegradable decoration. You can also roast the pumpkin seeds for a tasty fall treat!
Corn Stalks and Hay Bales
Corn stalks and hay bales make a great addition to any fall or Halloween decoration setup. Try to get some from a local farmer or vendor instead of a big box store. Watch out for local wildlife they have been known to abscond with a cob of corn now and again as they fatten up for winter! Corn stalks and hay bales are natural products that can be easily composted or put to other uses after using them.
DIY Halloween Costumes
Say goodbye to the disposable fast fashion costume that has consumed modern Halloween and get back to the roots by making your own! You probably have some old costumes and items in your closet, so why not reuse them? Any old costume can be zombified with a few tears and some fake blood. Check in with your friends and family and try out a costume exchange. Using a costume only once in a lifetime is a huge waste so it’s important to get creative and try to breathe new life into that old costume. If you want to buy something fresh try looking at vintage markets and thrift stores. Beware as many thrift stores and now selling brand new fast fashion plastic-based costumes.
Think “zero waste zero plastics”
Halloween celebrations are as unique as the humans celebrating them and no one list could capture all the awesome things humans do to make Halloween special. This year start to think about what you do and what you could switch to reduce the environmental impact. If you like to decorate with cobwebs use plain old string or leggings/stockings to make them instead of plastic webbing. Cardboard can make great tombstones instead of styrofoam. Having a party? Opt for bamboo utensils and plates instead of plastic ones. There are a lot of innovative ideas out there this year to reduce your waste so you can have fun sustainably. Go old school and have the kids use a repurposed pillow case for the look instead of a disposable plastic pumpkin.
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