A guide to Websites and pages with information about Earth-friendly Halloween decorating, trick-or-treating and celebrating.
Halloween is coming up fast, and a lot of green-oriented Websites are doing their best to encourage eco-friendly celebrating this Oct. 31. Some of the latest additions to the green Halloween Internet collection include:
Green Halloween was founded by Corey Colwell-Lipson, a marital and family therapist who lives in Washington State with her husband and two young daughters. She says the inspiration for her Website came from her children, after she went trick-or-treating with them and discovered a couple of houses where people were handing out stickers or other non-candy goodies. "Instead of candy, GreenHalloween offers dozens of creative, inexpensive and even no-cost substitutes that young children will love. In addition, parents can go to the website to learn from experts how to talk to their children about moving toward a more healthy and Earth-friendly holiday, print out coloring pages, get ideas for healthy Halloween parties and find Green Halloween neighborhoods. Places to purchase earth-friendly and recycled items and how to dispose of unwanted candy are among the other ideas on the site."
InventorSpot has a page featuring "This Year's Best Solar-Powered Halloween Lights" and they're all pretty neat: there's a Frankenstein's Monster and Bride solar light set, a solar-powered melting witch statue, a solar-powered gargoyle with glowing green eyes, solar-powered pumpkin string lights and more.
HGTV, always a handy resource for do-it-yourselfers and crafty types, gives a wide variety of ideas for making your own Halloween costumes, pumpkin decorations and other autumn-theme decor.
The Nature Conservancy offers a lot of Enviro-Tips on how to "Green Your Halloween" on its Website. It provides links to environmentally friendly candy companies, sources for finding organically grown pumpkins, and resources for reusable tote bags, beeswax candles and LED Halloween lights.
Greenlight provides all sorts of ideas for greener Halloween celebrations on its Website, with information about organic candy, how to make shrunken apple heads and tin luminaria, sources for battery-free flashlights and more.
The World Wildlife Fund has a collection of Halloween tips that include ideas for transforming old boxes, ripped pantyhose and other waste into spooky decor.
Finally, if you're looking for pumpkin patches, corn mazes, hay rides or other fall/Halloween-type outdoor activities, be sure to check out PickYourOwn.org, which is a great resource not only during the fall harvest but throughout the year: it provides information on everything from where to pick your own blueberries in the spring to how to can your garden vegetables at the end of summer.
The copyright of the article Online Tips for a Green Halloween in Green/Simple Living is owned by Shirley Siluk Gregory. Permission to republish Online Tips for a Green Halloween in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
