Can Halloween be green?

While there are many reasons the first wave of American environmentalism failed to take hold with the public at large, one of the biggest was its persona. The movement seemed so relentlessly dour.

For better (the proliferation of green products at Main Street stores) or for worse (hybrid SUV's), the current wave of green thinking seems a lot more fun. Or, at least, open to the possibility of fun. Prophesies of doom and gloom are tempered by hopeful and helpful suggestions for how to reduce our environmental footprint.

With that in mind, let's talk Halloween. In particular: costumes, candy and decorations.

Joe Powers / Insitu Photography

When it comes to costumes, it's pretty obvious that making one out of second-hand clothes is the only way to go. Plastic costumes: hell, no. And brand-new ones, well, aren't likely to get worn again. So save some dough and some resources by hitting up a Salvation Army or one of its peers.

If you have kids, it's a great way to encourage creativity, fiscal responsibility and environmental stewardship. (A rumpled brown suit from Goodwill could be just thing for your pre-school Ralph Nader)

Then, of course, there's candy. Or more importantly, the way that it's packaged. Most candy is individually wrapped in a non-recyclable material. What to do? Fresh-baked goods and popcorn balls just won't cut it if Mom and Pop suspect the neighbors of shoving straight pins into their caramel apples. Your best bet is to purchase candy that comes in small cardboard boxes which can be recycled -- or at the very least, will degrade sometime in this lifetime.

Some ideas that come to mind include Good & Plenty, Milk Duds, Lemon Heads and the rest of the Ferrara Pans family of 'Heads, Dots and stuff like that. (Anyone else feeling nostalgic?) Royal Oak-based Bellyache Candy Shoppe sells a lot of this stuff.

Lastly, there are the decorations. All I can say is re-use whatever you can, year after year. Otherwise, just stick with pumpkins. Traditional, compostable and edible. Kinda perfect, no?

This story was originally published as part of our Green Space series, on 10/11/2007.