A Zero Waste Halloween…with Kids
This post has been updated as of September 20, 2024. This post has affiliate links. Please see the disclosure page for more information.
I love the fall season. There’s something about leaves falling and cool weather that makes me happy. I used to love summertime, but I’ve found that summer and winter give me climate anxiety. Every summer is the hottest year on record and every winter seems milder. So I’m super excited to share my own zero waste Halloween article with a focus on families.
Disclaimer: There is no such thing as zero waste. Even the most ardent zero wasters produce waste. Even if they purchase ALL of their consumables from the beautiful bulk bins at Whole Foods, the store still uses packaging. Utilizing the bulk bins lowers an individual’s overall packaging, but it doesn’t eliminate it. Most zero wasters still send waste to the landfill and recycle. Zero waste is the goal, but rarely the result. Remember, there is no such thing as a perfect zero waster. And packaging isn’t everything. In fact, packaging is only one small piece of the puzzle. We have to look at systems. How is the product produced? Where is the product produced? What company is it produced by?
In addition to large polluters, we have to focus on consumption, particularly if we live in a consumer-based society. Consumption is an essential part of our lives. So how we consume is important.
Don’t ever let anyone tell you our consumption matters. Listed below are a few statistics about all the waste produced by Halloween.
- Americans purchase approximately 600 million pounds of candy a year for Halloween.
- 85% of all Halloween costumes end up in the landfill.
- In the US 1.3 billion pumpkins are sent to the landfill annually. The UK tosses 8 million pumpkins per year.
- If every household in the United States carves one pumpkin that goes to waste, the estimated greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint would be more than 1 million tons of CO2-equivalent.
Zero Waste Halloween Costumes
This has been a tough one! It’s difficult enough to find ethically-made sustainable clothing. It’s even more difficult to find ethically-made Halloween costumes. I used to buy cheap Halloween costumes without a second thought. The costume was always made overseas under unknown conditions. I’m sure there are factories overseas in which employees are treated well and the resources are harvested sustainably, but this seems to be few and far between. There has been documentation that some textile companies utilize slave labor. This includes in United States and Asia. So finding a sustainable, ethically sourced costume has been my top priority.
In short, I have NOT found a company that makes sustainable or ethical Halloween costumes. This is a market we desperately need. In lieu of clicking a button to press “BUY,” I had to do some serious legwork. It reminded me of being a kid. As a child from a low-income family, I had to cobble together my own costumes.
And don’t forget if your costume is still usable then consider donating it. Yes you can donate Halloween costumes. One of my favorite donation sites is Halloween Helpers, who collects gently used Halloween costumes and distributes them to children in need.
Shop Your Closet
The best option for a truly zero waste costume is to use what you already have. If you have an old Halloween costume, break that bad boy out again. You can also put together a simple costume from items in your closet. Here are 22 homemade costume ideas from Bustle.
Shop Secondhand
Another option is to buy secondhand. Online thrift shops have gained traction. You can visit your local thrift store or check out Swap.com, eBay, Poshmark, Mecari, and thredUP.
Costume Rentals
The costume rental business is a small industry, but it does exist in some mid- to large cities. I recently found a costume rental business in my hometown through Yelp. The rental fees may be equivalent to purchasing a cheap costume online, but it will be worth it. Costume rental companies typically have high-quality theatrical costumes. theAcme has a list of U.S. costume makers and rentals. Some of my favorite online rental companies are the Costumer, Gotta Costume, and Rent the Runway.
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Custom Made Costumes
I found some reasonably priced handmade costumes on Etsy, which is where I ultimately purchased from. Etsy is a great option for the budget-conscious zero waster, but buying on Etsy doesn’t always mean handmade anymore. There are quite a few items on Etsy that are manufactured overseas and resold. I’m not sure how this isn’t a violation of Etsy’s policies, but this seems to happen all the time.
Candy
I’ve searched high and low for low-waste individually wrapped candy. For holidays like Christmas and Easter I typically buy candy from the bulk bins, but Halloween is different. Parents are typically very cautious about allowing their children to receive unpackaged candy from strangers. The packaging will likely end up in a landfill (which is anaerobic) and will not degrade, but cardboard or paper wrapping is miles better than plastic.
The environmental and ethical impacts of major candy companies like Nestlé, Cadbury, and Mars extend far beyond Halloween. These companies are heavily involved in the cocoa and palm oil industries, both of which have severe consequences for the environment and human rights. Cocoa farming has long been associated with deforestation in tropical regions like West Africa, contributing to habitat destruction and loss of biodiversity. Even more troubling is the documented use of forced child labor on cocoa farms, where children work in hazardous conditions for little or no pay.
In addition, the widespread use of palm oil in many of their products is linked to massive deforestation in Southeast Asia, further driving species extinction and contributing to climate change. The unsustainable sourcing practices of these companies continue to fuel environmental degradation and human exploitation, making it crucial for consumers to be aware of the far-reaching impacts of their Halloween treats. Opting for fair trade and sustainably sourced candies can make a significant difference in reducing these harmful practices.
This is why WE HAVE TO MOVE BEYOND PACKAGING. We have to start thinking about the companies we are buying from and the nutritional value of the treats we consume. Some of my favorite candy manufacturers are Equal Exchange, Natural Candy Store, and Alter Ego. Like all things good in life, fair trade candy is more expensive.
UNLOCKING THE POWER OF BULK SHOPPING
If you’re on a tight budget— did you know that you can buy from Dollar Tree and Dollar General online? Dollar Tree allows shoppers to purchase in bulk. You can purchase an entire case of candy. Dollar General sells individual boxes of candy packaged in cardboard. Boxed sells candy in large packages (which lowers your overall packaging waste). Amazon has a large cardboard box of Junior Mint mini boxes.
If you’d like to properly recycle your candy wrappers check out Terra Cycle’s candy wrapper pouch.
Listed below are all the candies I could think of in low waste packaging.
>Dots (cardboard)
>Junior Mints (cardboard)
>Milk Duds (cardboard)
>Whoppers (cardboard)
>Nerds (cardboard)
>Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (foil)
>Bits O Honey (waxed paper)
>Hershey Kisses (foil)
>Mike & Ikes (cardboard)
>Fun Dips (paper)
>Hot Tamales
>Super Bubble Gum (waxed paper)
>Sugar Daddy (waxed paper)
>Tootsie Rolls (waxed paper, however, sometimes they come in plastic)
>Good n Plenty (cardboard)
>Red Hots (cardboard)
>Taffy (waxed paper)
Pumpkins
I personally love all things pumpkin. Needless to say, I purchase lots of pumpkins. The best thing about pumpkins is they are 100% compostable. I’m fortunate to have space to compost, have a local composter nearby, and my local government offers free composting, but not everyone has the space to compost, the funds, or the municipality. If you fit into this category, head over to BioCycle and enter in your zip code to find a local composter. That said, if you live in a single family house with a small yard, you can literally throw your pumpkin among the trees and it will biodegrade itself naturally. I enjoy watching the squirrels dig into my old pumpkins. They always manage to plant pumpkin seeds for me for next year.
Halloween Alternatives to Candy
I won’t be passing out toothbrushes or toothpaste for Halloween, but coloring books, sustainable crayons, books, recycled paper pencils, sustainable note pads, or Buffalo Games puzzles are fair game. There are quite a few items children can enjoy other than candy. Admittedly candy is the main event, so perhaps a package of candy and one of the items listed above?
Avoid Seasonal Coffee Drinks
This one is for the grownups! Fall is also synonymous with Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice latte. Innocent enough right? Inhabitat Design examined the true cost of all those extra non-compostable or recyclable coffee cups we go through this time of year, along with the resources required for all that java. And then there’s the coffee supply chain issues at big chain stores. I typically buy coffee from a local roaster Black Powder Coffee. Given the ethical issues that big corporate chains like Starbucks have had over the last few years, I’ve decided to give up that occasional Starbucks cup of coffee. One of my favorite sites to find local coffee shops is Find Me a Coffee. Give them a try!
I hope you’ve enjoyed some of my zero waste Halloween tips. What are some of your favorite zero waste fall tips and tricks? I’d love to hear about them. Send me an email.
#zerowaste, #lowwaste, #halloween, #fall, #holidays, #ecofriendly
