Green It Yourself! How YOU can make your RedHawk life a little Greener.
By Evan Martinsek
Halloween is here! With it comes the unfortunate realizations that your costume is made in China with plastic polymers. And the same goes for your store-bought decorations. And that your candy is shipped in from impoverished farms in Africa. Bummer, right? Well never fear! I'm here to show you how you can Make Halloween Green Again!
Once upon a time, before commercialization of the holiday, Halloween was a simple affair, celebrated with local pumpkins and gourds, healthy snacks for treats, and costumes or decorations handcrafted from professionals and amateurs alike. This Halloween, treat the planet a little nicer by using some of these tricks!Halloween Decorations
Halloween decorations are easy to go green with! Pumpkins and gourds are grown locally all over Ohio. Butterfield Farms, located just down the road out of town, has an awesome pumpkin patch and even a corn maize, just for kicks. Want something scary? Buy online! They have hand-crafted or secondhand for purchase. Try Etsy, they have a page just for Halloween!Chocolates and Candies
Fair Trade, fair trade, fair trade.The Natural Candy Store has plenty of fair trade options. (Read more about fair trade chocolate here!) It is not possible to grow chocolate in Ohio, but apples are locally produced which could serve as a healthy substitute. If you’re looking for a different kind of treat for Halloween, try beverages from our local Cincinnati breweries and make sure to recycle the cans and bottles!Costumes
Costumes can get expensive. Plus, most of the material isn’t recyclable and you only wear it for one weekend out of the year. Going the homemade route can get rid of all of those problems. You can edit your home wardrobe with hand-made features, such as wings or halos from wire hanger. Buying secondhand from Goodwill and Salvation Army is also an alternative. Just grab any baggy sweater and pant to look like Kanye. (Seriously, check it out online.) Or a suit made in China and an old yellow duster to be Trump. If you’re still not convinced, try online for secondhand costumes. Ebay has many options.
