November 15th is America Recycles Day!

Here are three ways you can celebrate while wrapping up your Halloween festivities:

1. Before dumping your Halloween costume, check out Earth911′s article, “8 ways to reuse your [Halloween] costume.”

2. Don’t toss your candy wrappers – upcycle them into cool and useful things. Here’s how to make runway-worthy handbags.

3. If you have not done so already, compost your jack-o-lantern, leftover candy and natural decor. Here is how (click to view):

As promised, here are some photos from last Friday night’s Green Halloween NYC kick-off party at OpenHouse Gallery.

Check out the amazing food… er, edible art… er, decor by Flavor Palette (sorry – no URL available).

The living and natural decor from grass “tablecloths” to vine (and bicycle wheel) chandeliers…

The stunning performances…

And , of course, incredible costumes (no one does it quite like New Yorkers!)

For more photos, info on the event and the people behind it, check out this article on BizBash.

Thanks to a handful of generous designers and companies, my Halloween in NYC was not only fun, it was eco-fabulous!

Here is what I wore to the Green Halloween kick-off party on Friday night. (Clearly, I need a new pose.)

Wearing (and loving) Lizzie Parker – a Seattle local designer and amazing woman. I’m a huge fan. The outfit was not intended to be a costume, but for this photo I donned a black witch hat, borrowed from my daughter. Also wearing a necklace made of funky, upcycled materials and upcycled guitar string hoop earrings from Etsy. Not in photo – black Lizzie Parker cape and chocolate candy wrapper clutch from Ecoist.

That same night, I also wore “Coffee Couture” – Made by designer Susan Alveshere and loaned to me by A Masquerade in Bellevue, WA. The dress is made of hand-dyed burlap coffee bags (surprisingly un-itchy!), hand sewn coffee bean embellishments, and coffee filters (complete with a coffee filter flower hair clip). With Rainforest Native acai necklace and bracelets, MapleXO upcycled skateboard hoop earrings and bangles, Mohop sustainable wood wedge platform sandals, and Cosabella bamboo tank top. (See the exact dress on the runway here - page 24.)

On Halloween at the Green Halloween NYC family festival (with my mom and I and costumed friend, Leslie Bocskor), wearing rented (reused) dress, necklace and “windswept” mask courtesy A Masquerade.

We’ll be posting more news and photos from our time in NYC, but in the meantime, we’d love to hear from you… What did your family do for Halloween? What did your kids wear? What about you? Post comments below.

Congratulations to Leslie for winning the 100% cotton baby costume from Harrison’s and to Amy for her win of the Fair Trade, 100% alpaca mask and tail set from Ouef.

Winners were chosen at random on Random.org.

Ladies, we’d love to hear which styles you chose…

Thank you so much to all those who entered. Stay tuned for more great, green giveaways!

I just read a recent report that states:

One of the spookiest parts of Halloween this year may be the amount people plan to spend on their celebrations. According to the National Retail Federation’s 2009 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, consumers are expected to spend an average of $56.31 on Halloween, down from $66.54 last year. Total spending on the holiday is expected to reach $4.75 billion.*

I agree. That IS spooky.

But not because our Halloween spending is going down.

I mean, do we really need the $1.23 billion in Halloween decor, most of it made of unsustainable materials by people likely not being paid fairly? Does purchasing 1/4 of a billion dollars worth of Halloween greeting cards (most made from virgin trees) really make our holiday more fun? How, exactly, do the $1.75 billion dollars worth of petroleum-based costumes (which won’t be worn again) lend to meaningful memories?

The answers, of course, are: No, absolutely not and they don’t.

Celebrating green means putting people first and meaning before objects. It’s about having fun with the people we love most and about creating traditions we can all be proud of.

Do we really need all this stuff?

It is true that at some point, all of us will want to buy something, if not for this holiday, then the next.

So, what’s a conscious consumer to do?

Support the retailers who sell sustainably and ethically sourced products. Look for items that are durable and able to be used throughout the year and/or year after year. Let other retailers know that you’d like to see green and Fair Trade products in their stores, and when they do stock the items, tell all your friends. Support their efforts.

So, if you are going to buy this Halloween, use your dollar “vote” wisely by choosing products that support healthy people and a healthy planet, NOT the wallets of manufacturers creating junk that’s intended to be disposed of. (See “Story of Stuff” for a peek at planned obsolescence in the manufacturing world.)

And here is a tip: Before spending a single penny, ask yourself, How does buying ___ support my family’s values and vision for a meaningful holiday? What will not having it mean to me and my family? If I do buy it, will I use it year after year?

What do you think? We’d love to hear your comments, below.