As the leader of the new green team for St. Bernard of Clairvaux school, I partnered with a national program for our first initiative of our academic year: a greener Halloween. The Green Halloween® program is a non-profit community initiative to create healthier holidays, beginning with Halloween. 
Why “green” and Halloween? It grew out of widespread concern about childhood obesity, the discovery of chemicals and lead in store-bought costumes, and enormous waste generated at Halloween for candy sales and décor. Our school already practices the basics of “reduce, reuse and recycle,” but a healthy planet doesn’t mean much without healthier kids to enjoy it. Here’s some spooky statistics:
- This generation of kids has a shorter life expectancy than their parents.
- One in 3 children born today will develop diabetes.
- One-third of America's children are overweight; 17% are considered obese.
- Over 6,000 synthetic chemicals are used in the processed-food industry.
- A 2004 study found that children's behavior measurably improved after a one-week diet without preservatives and artificial colors and dramatically worsened on the weeks they were given preservatives and artificial colors.
Green Halloween offers dozens of creative, inexpensive ideas. Here are a few:
- Before heading to the big box store for a costume, try an experiment. Set kids on a hunt through the house for creative costume materials. Work with them to construct their heart's desire.
- Use real pumpkins and gourds for a natural, less creepy décor.
- For trick-or-treaters, offer two bowls, one with conventional candy, the other with "treasures". Let kids choose one item from either bowl.
- Hand children whatever you are giving them in order to reduce the amount of candy you give away by 25%.
- Offer kids fun candy alternatives such as: bells, barrettes, charms, stickers, sea shells, fake tatoos, pencils, mini pumpkins, cards, jokes, crayons, bracelets, coins and feathers. For a more extensive list, click here.
While parents might be skeptical, kids aren't. The Green Halloween team tested their candy-free theory with “local experts” - 20,000 kids. Given the choice between alternatives to conventional candy, not a single one (ages 4-16) said they would be disappointed if they received one of the treasures or healthier items offered. Proof positive that Halloween and trick-or-treating is more than just candy.
This year, our school also joined thousands of families across the country in National Costume Swap Day. Costume swaps not only mean that few
er resources are used to make new products, it also means less packaging, less transportation of the product and less waste (from products being trashed as they sadly often are). A costume swap can also be a community building activity and of course, in these challenging times, will save families money. (It saved me about $40. My son chose the Power Ranger suit and my daughter selected a lovely Little Mermaid costume!) Hosting a costume swap can be as simple as getting together with a few neighbors or as large as a citywide event. Our school made this easy by rolling the event into one of our Green Team meetings.
For events of any size, here are some tips on how to organize and set it up. New swaps will be registering every day right up to Halloween. Congrats to Green Halloween, Swap and Kiwi Magazine for their collaboration on National Costume Swap Day.
And a big thank you also to Honest Tea, Stretch Island Fruit Co., Nature's Path, and Surf Sweets for donating healthy treats to our schools' Fall Festival.
I love to see green groups partner to create ideas that can help us all. Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson, the mother/daughter creators of Green Halloween, are an inspiration. They set out to be the change in their Seattle neighborhood and ended up influencing a nation to celebrate healthier holidays.
