I’ve always been a big fan of making my own Halloween costumes, and I’m also a big procrastinator, so what better way to get your spooks on then cobbling together a last-minute eco-friendly costume?  Who needs all the plastic waste and boringness of store-bought costumes, when with a little ingenuity you can impress the  superhero skivvies off your Halloween date.  Gina also has some excellent costume ideas to dress for the New Depression.  So dig through your closet, your recycling bin, or a nearby thrift store, grab you canvas bag for candy and ring those doorbells!

1. Non-GMO Corn (pictured):  Borrow my idea from last year when I was an ear of corn!  Paint a strip of large-bubble wrap with non-toxic yellow paint, tape it around your torso, wear green pants and a green hoodie for the husk, and a blond wig for the silk.  Extra credit for keeping it organic with a non-GMO sign.

2. Christmas Tree:  I wish I had the pictures to share, but in college I borrowed my brother’s idea and went out as a Christmas Tree.  Real simple. Green shirt, brown pants, and a strand of energy-saving LED Christmas lights wrapped around your body.  Watch the crowd light up when you plug yourself in at the party!  I added a little extra flair and taped hand-drawn paper ornaments to my chest and a star to my forehead, but I leave the details up to you.

3. Planet Earth: 

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I’m in Montreal this weekend visiting my family. And this morning while out getting groceries with my dad, I was trying to convince him to purchase re-usable canvas bags. And for this first time, he agreed. I paused. This battle was never won before so why such an easy defeat? My dad explained that he can no longer use plastic bags when throwing out our garbage thus eliminating his justification for getting grocery store bags.

And why can’t he throw out plastic bags you ask? Well, it started with a confusing answer. First, he tells me that the city dropped off a large brown bin where he has to throw food waste, leaves and other things listed in a packet of instructions that with the bin. Kitchen refuse? Leaves? No more plastic?

A compost bin! I exclaimed in the middle of IGA.

My dad was a little fuzzy on the details so when i got home, I discovered all of the literature (photo above). and in fact, the city gave all Cote St Luc residents a compost bin. The first pick up is Oct. 12, 2008.

How amazing is this?

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Target, where I bought Wayne’s World 1 AND 2 for $7.50, has gone one step further towards awesomeness by offering to exchange their plastic bags for reusable totes. Though I can’t find any information on Target’s website, from the “What Do You Stand For” website:

Send them your used plastic Target bags, and they will send you a coupon for a free reusable tote. They’ll even pay the postage by turning the cover of Newsweek, which features a pre-paid business reply label, into an envelope…

Target, which already prints 10 ways to reuse on the side of each plastic bag, partnered with TerraCycle, an eco-capitalism company, and Newsweek to turn plastic bags into reusable “Retotes.”

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Plastic bags are getting a bad rap globally; from Asia to Africa to Europe and North America, shoppers are being forced by bans to BYOB (bring your own bag.) But Ireland’s managed to convince consumers to switch to reusable bags without instigating a ban, as the New York Times reports today:

In 2002, Ireland passed a tax on plastic bags; customers who want them must now pay 33 cents per bag at the register. There was an advertising awareness campaign. And then something happened that was bigger than the sum of these parts.

Within weeks, plastic bag use dropped 94 percent. Within a year, nearly everyone had bought reusable cloth bags, keeping them in offices and in the backs of cars. Plastic bags were not outlawed, but carrying them became socially unacceptable ” on a par with wearing a fur coat or not cleaning up after one’s dog.

Plastic bag-buyers who find themselves subjected to scowls from more sustainably-minded citizens can console themselves with the knowledge that the 33 cent tax goes to the government to fund environmental enforcement and cleanup programs.

Learn more about the problems created by plastic shopping bags and find alternatives at reusablebags.com.