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Green Your Child’s Halloween Costumes!
Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
In the olden and golden days (when was that actually?), many kids made their costumes, often with help from parents. Making the costume was actually an enjoyable, bonding activity. Today, millions of people spend millions of dollars on costumes that are made from non-sustainable materials (like petroleum), to be worn once, then discarded.
But there are earth-friendlier alternatives. If you usually buy costumes, consider:
• Make Them Yourself. Kids are incredibly gifted and creative when we encourage them. There are almost no costumes that cannot be handmade. If your children are stuck on turning a popular TV or movie character into a costume, brainstorm how you can make it happen with items you already own or can get at no cost by borrowing or making. Be sure to check online for ideas.
• Avoid Plastic. Purchase costumes made from more eco-friendly materials, or at least not from plastics. Choose cotton, organic cotton, silk or hemp, for instance. Unfortunately, these alternatives are not yet widely available, but if you're interested in them, ask local stores to consider carrying them next year. And check at the end of this post for some great online sources.
• Trading them. Arrange a costume swap with neighbors or at your church or even with co-workers who are parents, check online at swap sites like Green Halloween, or see if you can interest a local child-focused organization in sponsoring a swap.
• Shop Resale. Go green, save time and money by shopping for your child’s costume at a consignment or thrift shop.
• Initiate a Costume Challenge. Set the timer and let your kids go on a hunt through the house looking for Halloween costume components. (Be sure to tell them if any parts of the house are off limits). Let their imaginations fly. Instead of being a superhero or television character, the might just want to flex their creative muscles and be something unique.
• Green the Goody Bag. Use something you already own that goes with their costume. A chef can carry a bowl, a mountain climber a backpack, a princess a purse, football player a helmet, etc.
When Halloween is over, don't throw costumes away. Save them, dismantle and hold on to the "parts," trade or take them to a thrift store.
Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and co-authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family.
The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of Healthy Child Healthy Child.
Posted by Halloween Recipes on 10/21 at 10:56 AM
I bought organic candy this year, not only will I be giving it to all the trick-or-treating kids, I will also ask my kids to exchange all the junk candy they’ll bring home for organic candy and organic chocolate.