Halloween is a very wasteful time of year – think of all the individually wrapped candies, the throwaway decorations, and plastic aplenty. The good news is there are lots of ways to reduce the waste associated with this occasion. Here’s how to have an eco-friendly Halloween.

How to Have an Eco-Friendly Halloween: 8 Tips

1. Buy Locally Grown Pumpkins

Pumpkins can travel a long way to get to stores, so by purchasing locally grown pumpkins, you'll be helping the planet in addition to supporting a local business. If the locally grown pumpkins are organic too, even better!

2. Find an Alternative to New Costumes

Many costumes are purchased just to be worn on Halloween, then thrown away as soon as the party’s over. This year, try swapping costumes with someone else to reduce waste, or get creative and make a costume yourself.

3. Use an Alternative to Plastic Buckets

Plastic buckets are often used when trick or treating, but they’re so bad for the planet. Not only are they often flimsy, and so unlikely to be used for many years, but they’re usually made from plastic that is going to be sticking around for a very long time.

Using a more eco-friendly alternative is such an easy way to help protect our planet. Tote bags are a great option – our Big Brown Bat Tote Bag would be the perfect trick or treating accessory!

4. Avoid Plastic-Wrapped Candy

Individually wrapped candy covered in plastic is a huge issue at Halloween. Fortunately, there are some choices of candy that aren’t wrapped in plastic, such as: Milk Duds, Nerds, Sweet Tarts, Junior Mints, and Dots. Making this switch will reduce the amount of throwaway plastic waste.

5. Reduce Pumpkin Waste

Those pumpkins you bought? Don’t let everything inside go to waste:

Make A Tasty Snack

Wash and dry the seeds, toss them in olive oil and a seasoning such as sea salt or paprika, then roast them in the oven for 10/15 minutes. A tasty Halloween snack!

Use As a Crunchy Addition!

In addition to being used as a snack, pumpkin seeds can be added to a variety of foods, such as soups, cookies, granola, and more!

Homemade Pumpkin Foods

There are lots of ways to use up the flesh from your pumpkin, including pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin curries. Cook up a feast with your pumpkin flesh!

Read more tips for reducing food waste.

6. Get Creative with Your Halloween Décor

Instead of choosing throwaway and plastic decorations, perhaps try some garlands made of paper, use natural items such as straw and pumpkins, or get crafty and make your own decorations using recycled materials. Kids will love to get involved in making Halloween decorations and it'll keep them busy for a while - win-win!

7. Avoid Putting Fake Cobwebs Outside

Fake cobwebs can be deadly for small animals that get trapped in them, so it’s best to avoid putting any of this decorative item outside.

8. Choose Clothing That’s Not Just for Halloween

Want to get more wear from Halloween-themed clothing? Some of our designs are perfect for Halloween, but can be worn all year round, like our Yellow Garden Spider Collection. As each order funds the planting of trees and makes a donation to environmental non-profits, this is a purchase that helps the planet in more ways than one! 

Got more tips for how to have an eco-friendly Halloween? Let us know - we love to hear from you. Wishing all our customers a very happy and eco-friendly Halloween.