Happy HallowGREEN: Six Tips for Making October Less Scary for the Animals and the Planet
As we’re building up to Halloween, that most sacred of calendar days, it’s a good time to assess how you can celebrate without inflicting too many horrors upon the planet. If you’ve got an eco heart, and I know you do, I’ve got six tips for creating a Halloween season that won’t haunt you or anyone else.
Build a better costume
Charlie Brown had it right for eco-friendliness and ease — just a pair of scissors and a bedsheet — but if you’re worried about getting rocks in your trick-or-treat bag, you could level it up a bit. Shop your own closet, thrift or have a costume exchange with friends for your ensemble rather than buy fast-fashion that is unnecessary and unsustainable.
Some simple ideas: ’80s prom (neon eyeshadow + fingerless gloves + big hair); kitty cat (one color top and bottom + clip on ears + tail + drawn-on whiskers), mime (striped shirt + black pants + suspenders + beret + white and black face makeup), robot (different sized boxes cut, taped and stacked), your favorite characters (for example, Wednesday Addams — black dress + black umbrella + black braids + unsmiling face); or, what will be perhaps this year’s breakout hit, Childless Cat Lady, where you just show up with in comfy clothes adorned with political pins and buttons and an armload of play cat plushies, cat toys and catnip.
You can source makeup that is cruelty-free and vegan to complete any look.
Buy small and local
Set a beautiful mantle or table centerpiece with a variety of colorful and locally-grown gourds, squashes, corn husks, dried flowers, grasses, nuts in their shells and more. You can check out farmers’ markets, roadside stands, local grocers and small growers to build your pretty scene, but don’t forget to visit the woods for some leaves, pinecones and branches to create a free nature-scape in your home.
The Greatest Pumpkins
Pumpkins are the very essence of Halloween and there is nothing like a bunch of orange winter squashes outside your front door to set the scene for a fabulous holiday, but there are a few things you can do — and not do — to make them go the extra ecological mile.
For one, buy local and support small farmers to reduce your food miles and keep money in your community. Second, you can avoid some of the things that harm wildlife that are common practices today, like bleaching pumpkins to extend their lives or painting them. Coating pumpkins with bleach or paint can be poisonous to wildlife and is not very considerate for those species that are going into months without as many food options. (Want to protect your pumpkins until the big day? Keep them inside, maybe facing a window, until it’s time to show their pretty faces.) After October 31, you can chop them into smaller pieces to serve the critters in your yard or put them in compost. Dropping pumpkins off in the woods is well-intentioned but not advised by wildlife experts as it can be harmful. Last, don’t forget to save the seeds for roasting and save a few to plant next year if you have a garden.
Decorate with discretion
Reduce, re-use, recycle and rethink: Do you really need those fake spider webs made of acrylic? No, and birds and other small animals certainly don’t as wildlife rehabbers report that they often get trapped in the material, especially when the webs are hanging from shrubs and trees. The fake webs are also not great for the environment, left to add to our collective garbage heap after Halloween.
As with picking out a costume, finding decorations through thrifting, supporting small makers, crafting, repurposing or getting resourceful with what you already have is a great gift to the planet over buying more plastic products that were assembled in sweatshops. If you’re going to make a purchase or two, think about what is something you’d like to keep for years to come, building on year-to-year when you make your decoration decisions.
Treats for the Goblin at Your Door
As we know, plant-based is the name of the game for eco-friendliness and you’re going zero waste, there is nothing better than little Cuties (and a perfect fit for the colors of the season) for trick-or-treaters. You can also consider a vegan Halloween candy from this exhaustive list, bags of pretzels or salted popcorn. If you’ve got a trick-or-treater of your own, reusable cloth bags are a much better choice than disposable plastic ones for the planet.
Party like Smarties
What is more fun than a festive Halloween party where you can dance it up like Charlie and the gang as you stand around a vegan char-boo-terie board? Get your favorite spooky playlist cued up, invite your most fiendish friends, enjoy a potluck stocked with vegan noms and serve with reusable plates, cups and silverware to reduce waste. Have a little costume party with a thrifted prize or two, or some homemade vegan pumpkin bread and the one who didn’t dress up has to wash the dishes!
Now have some fun out there. Happy Halloween!
Marla Rose is cofounder of VeganStreet.com.