How to Have an Ethical Halloween

How to Have an Ethical Halloween

We can all agree that there are only two types of people in this world: the ones who love Halloween and the ones who wait all year for Halloween and start decorating in September? Right?! 

After moving into our new house a couple of years ago, I realized that our neighbors were the decorate-in-September type. In response to all of the excitement across the street, my 8-year-old son is becoming an enthusiastic Halloween lover too.

All of this to say, our family has become more invested than ever in Halloween decor over the past couple of years. We keep ghosts and tombstones in the closet with the Christmas tree. We never did before, but we do now because we have a Halloween Enthusiast in the house. If you have one. He is over the moon when Spirit Halloween opens its creepy doors each fall. And speaking of the moon, he’s been talking all afternoon about the Blue Moon of Halloween 2020. It’s getting pretty serious! 

In past years, I have carefully considered ethical ways to celebrate Halloween. From shopping for kids’ costumes at local consignment shops to purchasing fair trade chocolate, there are so many different ways that we can make a positive impact on the environment and other people’s lives by making small changes to our personal celebrations.  

Not Your Normal Halloween

Of course, this year none of our celebrations will look quite the same this year because of the Pandemic. It’s hard to trick or treat and social distance; and can you imagine bobbing for apples during Covid? Halloween lovers across the country are wondering how they will celebrate this year.

As it seems like this time has provided ample opportunity for introspection, the upcoming fall may be another chance for us to look at the ways that we celebrate and consider how we can continue to celebrate in ways that make the world a better place for everyone.

This is an opportunity to consider how our purchases of decor, jewelry, and gifts for our celebrations can make a positive impact.

How Many of Your Decorations are Disposable?

In our trips to Spirit Halloween, I have realized how many of the Halloween decorations are super cheap and only made to last for one season. As with clothing, jewelry, and other items that we purchase, the best way to curate our collection of holiday decor is to know without a doubt that the people who have made the pieces have been paid fairly and treated well. And, we can do this by purchasing fair trade.

How many of your decorations are disposable? How do you incorporate handmade pieces that will last into your Halloween decor? What if we saw decorating as a way to showcase a smaller number of beautiful handmade pieces rather than stocking up on all of the cheap things just because we can? Of course, when we have little Halloween Enthusiasts in our midst, this is an opportunity to teach them, too!

Years ago, I took a quiz from Slavery Footprint to find out how much demand for slave labor my family produced each year. When I learned that our household likely created demand for approximately 69 slaves, I decided to start changing any little thing that I was able to. I started asking myself what we could do differently in order to ensure that that number was lower. As their website states: “Let’s be honest, one is too many.”

How can you shift your usual celebration habits this Halloween to make a positive impact?

Fair Tribe Halloween Collection

Although we aren’t sure what trick or treating will look like this year, there is an adorable Felt Black Witches Cauldron that is perfect for carrying candy around the neighborhood, passing out candy from your porch, or decorating your home. It’s the perfect candy dish to keep out for the month of October. Or, set out your candy in these festive carved gourds from Peru! There are two different sizes, and you can choose between bats, witches, and spiders.

Spooky spiders always take your decor to a new level. This year, gather a few new spiders for your home decor -- like this recycled metal spider from India or these abaca spiders from the Philippines

And whether you are celebrating Halloween at home this year or will be out for some form of festivity, go all out with handmade jewelry that will remain festive for many years to come. You can’t go wrong with the Dreamer Earrings, Black Druzy Agate Stone Ring, or these super fun Silver Inlaid Hopi Earrings from Mexico with a spider design.

There are lots of ways to make this holiday meaningful and to consider how you and your family can make even the smallest shifts to support artisans and families around the world this year as you celebrate. We would love to see the ways that you are decorating and styling your new pieces! Tag us on Instagram @fairtribe. And Happy (almost) Fall, friends!