Seattle , WA October 8, 2008—Seattle area mom's Green Halloween ® initiative seeking to make Halloween child and Earth-friendly explodes across the U.S.
Last year, with the child obesity crisis upon us, toys from China causing major worries, and increasing awareness of our planet's fragility, an Issaquah, WA mom, Corey Colwell-Lipson, started an initiative, Green Halloween ® to create new child and earth-friendly Halloween traditions.
"It's time we start thinking outside the conventional candy box," said the mother of two girls, "Halloween doesn't have to be about candy. Going junk-food-free can even be fun."
The overwhelmingly positive reaction from around the country—from parents, healthcare professionals, government and yes, even kids, convinced Colwell-Lipson and partner, her mom, Lynn Colwell, that they were on the right track.
"Last year, our vision was just that, a vision," said Colwell-Lipson. "We never anticipated the excitement the idea would ignite around the U.S. As soon as the story hit the media, we were inundated by emails from parents wanting to know what they could do to make Halloween better for children as well as the planet. "
Instead of conventional candy, www.GreenHalloween.org offers dozens of creative, inexpensive and even no-cost substitutes that young children will love. In addition, parents can go to the website to learn from experts about how to talk to their children about moving toward a more healthy and Earth-friendly holiday, enter contests, get ideas for healthy Halloween parties and find "official" Green Halloween® communities and events. Places to purchase earth-friendly and recycled items and how to dispose of unwanted candy are among the other ideas on the site.
Why pick on Halloween, some might wonder. It's just one day out of the year. Can't kids just forget about health and the planet for a single day?
"The problem is," said Colwell-Lipson, "it's not just one day. If it were, that might be OK. In reality, we are constantly celebrating. Whether it's the biggies like Christmas, Easter or Thanksgiving or the myriad individual celebrations that clog our calendars—birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, baby showers, office parties, family reunions, religious and ethnic holidays. Each one of these celebrated by millions of people creates problems. We're not asking people to give up the fun of celebrating, only to consider the impact our traditional approaches might have and consider the alternatives."
When it comes to Halloween, while some parents might be skeptical, kids aren't. Last year, the Green Halloween ® team proved its point at a series of appearances around the Seattle area where they exhibited alternatives to conventional candy to more than 20,000 children. Not a single one between the ages of four and sixteen, Colwell-Lipson asserts, said they would be disappointed if they found one of the treasures or healthier items displayed on a board.
This year, Green Halloween ® is an official program of Treeswing, a Seattle non-profit committed to reversing the childhood obesity trend through nutrition and exercise.
