Have a Halloween that isn’t Spooky for the Environment

It’s the time of the year for trick or treating! However, being festive does not mean we should pollute and bring damage to our beloved planet.. Halloween activities can be incredibly wasteful, so here is a look at three ways we can make Halloween more sustainable.

Costumes

Halloween is the peak time for fast fashion, the clothes bought are likely only worn once before it is discarded, or never used again. This uses us a huge amount of resources, and the waste will end up in landfills. Instead, you can consider making your own costumes from old fabrics and clothes you no longer wear. DIY is both fun and rewarding, your costumes will impress your friends even more when you tell them you made it yourself. Upcycling is a great way to help the environment.

Pumpkins

Waste of pumpkins is predicted to be the highest ever this year, with eight million pumpkins being dumped. Food waste is already huge problem in the UK, and there are ways to target pumpkin waste. When you carve out the pumpkin, you can use the insides in many creative ways, for example, you can bake it into desserts or make soup with it. The seeds can be toasted, and it makes a wonderful garnish. The main part of the pumpkin is versatile too, you can bake it or cook it into a curry. The possibilities are endless, get creative.

Candies

The big brands for sweets such as Nestlé, Mars and Hershey, and all their subunits, are known for their unsustainable and unethical practices. They use huge amounts of water for their production, they farm unsustainable palm oil, which destroys habitats, and they create a huge amount of packaging. Look for candies that either use sustainable palm oil, or do not use palm oil. Or even make your own snacks! Brownie points if they are also vegan.