Going Green Halloween with Teens

Whether your family has been green for years or whether you’re green at being green, Green Halloween is the right place for healthy and Earth-friendly Halloween tips.

So what is Green Halloween?


Green Halloween is a non-profit, grassroots community initiative to create healthier and more Earth-friendly holidays, starting with Halloween. It began in the Seattle area in 2007 with backers such as Whole Foods Market and was such a huge success that in 2008, the initiative expanded nation-wide. In cities across the country, volunteer coordinators are turning their city’s Halloween holiday healthy and eco-friendly, but many are also raising money for their own, local nonprofit beneficiaries via the initiative.

What does going green mean to you?  Here are ideas that Green Halloween provide:

Green = the 3 G’s

1. Good for People – Including the people who make, grow or sell the products we consume or use. Also good for us and our families. Healthy treats and treasures fall under this category.
2. Good for Planet – Includes making choices that have the least impact on the Earth during the lifespan (beginning to end) of that choice or product.
3. Good for the Community – Including making choices and supporting businesses whose business practices and products support the well being of communities such as via monetary contributions to worthy causes.

Teenagers, especially, might enjoy their suggestions for turning Halloween into a way to help people and the planet through initiatives such as Reverse Trick-or-Treating or other Trick-or-Treating for good programs. This way they can still enjoy traditions such as dressing up and going door-to-door, while also making real and positive differences in the world.

Have you and your community considered a costume swap?  The costume swap (watch video) can be a great way to get your community to go green!  Green Halloween reported if half the kids in the U.S. who celebrate Halloween swapped costumes, rather than buying new ones, the nation's annual landfill waste would be reduced by 6,250 tons. That's about the weight of 2,500 mid-size cars.  Now that is good for everyone!