{"id":6890,"date":"2013-10-01T13:43:03","date_gmt":"2013-10-01T20:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/sustainability\/?p=6890"},"modified":"2014-08-28T13:41:05","modified_gmt":"2014-08-28T20:41:05","slug":"green-your-halloween","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/sustainability\/2013\/10\/01\/green-your-halloween\/","title":{"rendered":"Green Your Halloween!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"raggedy-orig\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When I was a little girl Halloween costumes that were store-bought were a luxury that not everyone could afford, or wanted.\u00a0 More often than not, your costumes were made by your mom or grandmother; the “treats” were homemade cookies, popcorn balls, and maybe some store-bought candy like lollipops when you were lucky.\u00a0 When I was a girl I always wanted those store-bought costumes or candies because they were the exception to the rule… not anymore.<\/p>\n

Halloween has become a top American consumer holiday in the last three decades; the National Retail Federation just posted an article (Ghouls and Ghosts Galore, 158 Million People to Celebrate Halloween This Year, According to NRF<\/a>)\u00a0about the expected consumer spending on Halloween\u00a0for 2013.\u00a0 “with the average celebrant expected to spend $75.03 on d\u00e9cor, costumes, candy and fun… Overall, average spending on Halloween has increased 54.7 percent since 2005, with total spending estimated to reach $6.9 billion in 2013.”<\/p>\n

Over $6.9 BILLION is spent on Halloween now?\u00a0 Is this really the way our holidays have become… entirely store-bought consumer-driven operations with nothing being handmade, homemade or sustainable???<\/p>\n

Well this isn’t how I think Halloween has to be…\u00a0and there are\u00a0ways that\u00a0YOU CAN HELP!<\/p>\n

Yes, we all want to celebrate Halloween with unique costumes, great decorations and yummy food and we all can do this while being more environmentally conscious.\u00a0 Lets take the three biggest ways money is spent and waste is generated for Halloween… Candy, Costumes and Decorations, and let’s turn the Halloween cycle back to one that is homemade-with-love and sustainable-for-a-reason this month!<\/p>\n

First, Candy<\/strong>… with all the candy that is sold by the Super-Size-Me packages at every store from the grocery stores to the local pharmacy to even your neighborhood convenience store… here are some options for a more sustainable candy option.<\/p>\n

\"Candy<\/a><\/p>\n

Store bought packages of candy…<\/p>\n