If you're old enough, you might remember when you or your parents had to use the ol' noggin and come up with a creative Halloween costume using the items they -- gasp! -- had on hand. (Duct tape, cardboard, markers and . . . GO!) But Halloween since has become a very disposable holiday. You head to the seasonal Halloween store, and choose from any number of pre-packaged, flimsily made costumes (most definitely not made of organic anything), which often are thrown right in the trash once the holiday's festivities are over.
This year, try to hang on to anything that's salvageable. Jodi Helmer, author of "The Green Year: 365 Small Things You Can Do To Make A Big Difference" (Alpha Books, $14.95), has these tips to turn the pumpkin-colored holiday a little more green:
Green the goodies
Candy can create a mess -- and not just in your mouth. Multiply the number of candy wrappers trashed by each trick-or-treater and you're left with quite a pile of rubbish, heading straight to the landfill (or worse, littering your neighborhood).
n Light green: Buy candy in bulk to minimize packaging waste.
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n Dark green: Offer apples from the local farmers market.
Be creative with costumes
Skip the seasonal departments and stores. Most of these costumes are made from non-renewable resources and are not really intended to be worn more than once.
n Light green: Host a costume swap with the neighbors (especially great for kids, who grow fast!) to trade previously worn costumes.
n Dark green: Shop in your closet for what you need, then borrow the perfect pieces to complete your costume from friends and neighbors. Just be sure to return everything freshly cleaned.
Decor au naturale
Plastic permeates all aspects of Halloween decor: pumpkins, witches, skeletons and more. And then, we move to the effects: Fake fog, animated creatures of the dead, strobe lights and beyond, all of which are (appropriately) vampirelike in terms of energy, as displays get bigger by the year.
n Light green: Go low-tech. Craft your own decor from cardboard and previously purchased items, or recycle unused wood from household projects and Styrofoam from packaging. Plan to reuse your decorations year after year. Desperately need a plastic pumpkin? Hit the thrift store for lightly used items.
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n Dark green: Craft your own decor and also hit the farm (or the farmers market) and get some straw, mums and gourds, which come in all kinds of wacky shapes, sizes and colors. Gourds should last through Thanksgiving and make great centerpieces. Ditch all the natural decorations in the compost heap when the time is right.
