How Green's Your Halloween?

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is often found in the soft vinyl material that a good majority of plastic Halloween costumes are made from. PVC can release toxic chemicals and is a known carcinogen. It's not something that you want to be putting on your body or your face. Additionally, it cannot be recycled.

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A Real Treat for Halloween: Fair Trade Chocolate

These are all true. If you want to decorate your house with the spooky flare of Halloween try and avoid wax candles. The paraffin in wax candles releases toxic chemicals like toluene and benzene in the form of soot and smoke. Not to mention the fact that wax candles burn down way faster than soy candles. Also, make sure you carve your jack-o-lantern from a local pumpkin.

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Reverse trick-or-treating is a means to get the word out about fair trade chocolate. Though major chocolate manufacturers have promised for six years now to begin buying from fair trade cocoa farmers, little has actually been done. Through the program, fair trade chocolate companies donate samples along with cards outlining the fair trade program. When kids walk around to go trick-or-treating they hand the cards and samples out to the houses where they go.

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Make Your Own Cheaper, Better Halloween Costume

That's right, 9 billion pounds of candy corn were sent out to stores last year. Traditional candies like these are loaded with high fructose corn syrup, chemicals, and preservatives—way scarier than even the most ghoulish costume. Instead, choose organic candy companies. There are tons more organic choices to choose from these days, considering that between 2005 and 2006 organic candy offerings increased by 163 percent.

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As you draw on those cat whiskers and clown circles, take a moment to check the ingredients on the makeup that you're using. Makeup (including Halloween makeup) is not regulated by the FDA and additionally traditional makeup can include some pretty frightful ingredients like parabens, which are known to cause breast cancer and phthalates which are known to cause sperm damage and reproductive issues.

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These are all eco-friendly candy alternatives. These candies are organic, all natural, and made with ingredients that you can pronounce. Endangered Species is not explicitly organic but it's all natural and fair trade. Ten percent of Endangered Species net profits from each purchase go to environmental and humanitarian causes.

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There is no reason to buy a Halloween costume when you can simply go rent one and avoid the waste. Halloween is a real use it and toss it holiday but that doesn't have to be the case. With so many Halloween costume rental stores, there's a good chance that you can find one close to home. If you're having trouble finding a store consider making your own better, cheaper costume.

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How to Put Your Face On A Jack-O-Lantern

DIYers are great during Halloween because if you make your own decorations and costumes you're not contributing to all the consumerism that is so much a part of the holiday. You don't need a fancy carving knife or a certain kind of pumpkin (besides local and organic) to carve a professional looking jack-o-lantern. All you really need is a photo. Print a photo out in black and white and tape the photo to your pumpkin. Carve out all that is white, shave down all that is gray, and leave all that is black. You'll end up with a jack-o-lantern that looks more like a photo than an amateur design.

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How to Put Your Face On A Jack-O-Lantern

Make Your Own Cheaper, Better Halloween...Witch Costume

Halloween is a $6 billion a year industry. With all the costumes, candy, and decorations, it's no wonder that so much money is spent every year. But much of that money is wasteful especially in the current economic climate. Consider reusing or making your own costumes. Decorate the house with items found in nature like fallen leaves, pumpkins, and gourds instead of plastic decorations.

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You don't need to waste money on fake blood because you can make it yourself. Pomegranate juice mixed with a broken off stick of your concealer makes a great all natural fake blood. You don't need to go out and buy new makeup for Halloween, use your own makeup or the makeup from a lady in your life.

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