October 10, 2025
Eco-Friendly Halloween Tips
By Katie, Digital Marketing Coordinator
What’s scarier than Halloween night?
SINGLE USE PLASTICS!
Halloween is all about the cute outfits, the decorations, and a pumpkin spice latte, but in our consumerist society, it’s becoming scary for the planet, and that’s no joke. From single-use plastic candy wrappers to fast-fashion costumes and decorations destined for the landfill, our favourite night can leave a frightening environmental footprint.
Well you’re in luck, I am channelling my Martha Stewart to present to you…some simple, fun, and eco-friendly tips to make your Halloween perfect, and eco-friendly.
Décor
Pumpkins:
The most classic Halloween decoration, jack-o-lanterns, is actually the most eco-friendly one!
Supplies:
- Pumpkin
- Carving knife
- Tea light/ Candle
However, most people ask the question after Halloween, what do I do with this pumpkin now? Well, you have a few options! You can add it to your compost bin, or take a trip to Polo park mall and participate in the 5th annual pumpkin drop, hosted by CompostWinnipeg.
In 2024, 1,657 pumpkins were collected at the event, 403 of those went to the Little Red Barn Animal Sanctuary, and 1,254 pumpkins were taken for composting. In total, 14,782 kg of pumpkins were diverted from the landfill.
Or directly donate to farms or animal sanctuaries, like Lucky Stone Acres, Wildlife Haven, Prairie Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.
Lanterns:
Use your leftover containers from things like milk cartons, yogurt, or sour cream to make another type of Halloween lantern! Carve a face into it, or a cute design! Then decorate the outside, with paint or gluing on scrap paper. When you’re done, plop a battery powered tea light into it, and boom, cute Halloween décor!
Supplies needed:
- Container
- Scissors
- Tea light
- Paper or paint
Garland:
Use that pile of leaves in your backyard and turn it into a beautiful autumn garland. Collect leaves in various colours, shapes, and sizes. Then press them between wax paper, and iron! This creates a beautiful autumn banner/garland. That’s eco-friendly and reusable year after year.
Supplies:
- Leaves
- Wax paper
- Scissors
- String
- Towel
- Iron
Vision Board:
Need help getting into the fall mind set? Try making an autumn vision board. Find old magazines laying around your house or check out your local thrift store for magazines. My favourite is looking for Martha Stewart or National Geographic magazines, these usually have nature and seasonal imagery. Then cut out pictures that speak to you, and glue them down onto a piece of paper or cardboard scrap.
Supplies:
- Magazines
- Scissors
- Glue
- Cardboard
Clay Ghosts:
Make your own ghost lights from air dry clay! You can even make your own clay with just 3 ingredients: Salt, flour, and water. Mix your ingredients together and shape into a circle shape, cut out two circles to make eyes, then let the clay dry over a cup. Once dry, open up the cup and add a tea light!
Supplies:
- Flour
- Water
- Salt
- Cup
- Tea light
Costumes:
I know how tempting it can be to open your phone, click on whatever fast fashion app is trending and purchase a costume for that party you’re going to or for your kids night of treat or treating. But think about it, are you really gonna wear that costume again? Will your kid fit that costume next year? How soon is it going to end up in the landfill?
Let’s think about some costumes we can make from clothes in our closet or with a quiet trip to the thrift store!
Snail:
Become a cute snail with a paper shell! Find brown paper from packaging filler, or grocery bags. Then roll the paper to create a snail shell. Reuse an old headband as the antennas!
Supplies:
- Brown paper
- Glue
- Scissors
- Headband
- Paper
Polar Bear:
An easy Canada classic! Wear all white and make some ears or paws. Like the snail, find an old headband and make ears. Take white paper and cut out half circles, glue them onto the headband based on where you want the ears! Then add some dimension by adding a black half circle into the middle of each ear.
Supplies:
- White clothes
- Headband
- Scissors
- White and black paper
- Sharpie
- Glue
Butterfly:
Use an old bed sheet and tie dye it, inspired by the colours of a butterfly! You can even make home made dyes from common household items/food like turmeric, beats, red onion peels, and blueberries. Once your sheet is dyed, washed and dried, you can trace out the desired shape for the wings, and cut it out. Then take some black paint to start making the shapes inside of the wings. Google your favourite butterfly and copy their wing patterns! Then throw on a black long sleeve shirt and safety pin your wings on.
Supplies:
- White Bed sheet
- Hot water
- Items to dye with (tumeric, beats, etc)
- Black paint and paintbrush
- Black long sleeve shirt
- Safety pins
- headband
Conservation Officer:
Represent your favourite national or provincial park by becoming a Conservation Officer with clothes already in your closet!
Supplies:
- Brown collared shirt
- Wide brimmed hats
- Khakis with a belt
- Make a badge of your favourite park on it!
- Carry around flashlight
Bumble Bee:
Show love to our local pollinators by dressing up as one! Use a box as the bee body and paint black and yellow horizontal stripes. Make wings from clothes hangers and an old bed sheet, glue onto the back of the box, or even use elastics to attach the wings to wear like a back pack. And of course, reuse an old headband to make antennas.
Supplies:
- Cardboard box
- Black and yellow paint
- Paint brush
- Clothes hanger
- Bed sheet
- Glue
- Scissors
- Elastics
- Headband
Short on time? Try checking out local consignment or thrift stores for used costumes! How many times have you worn a costume once, then never again? Every Halloween? Exactly! Buying a used costume is basically like buying new as it’s likely only been worn once, and you’re keeping fabrics out of the landfill! Check out local consignment shops like Plato’s Closet, Closet Chick, or Style Encore.
Get Crafting!
This Halloween, let’s scare up some fun without haunting the planet. With just a little creativity and planning, you can enjoy all the spooky vibes while keeping things sustainable. Whether it’s DIY costumes, reusable decorations, or plastic-free treats, every small change makes a big difference. The planet will thank you (and so will future trick-or-treaters).
All dressed up and no where to go? Check out our 5th annual Spooktacular Halloween Hike on Oct 25.