Calling All DIY Witches: Let's Green Up Halloween Costumes

Halloween in the US had surprisingly violent origins. Hmm, yeah, it started innocently enough. Young boys were removing gates to let livestock escape. They were tipping over occasionally occupied outhouses. Putting wagons on the roofs of barns, you know, typical pranks. The sounds like goosey night in New Jersey anyway, okay? Don't know what that is? Well, I'll tell you Okay, in a minute. Yeah. But then over the years, kids escalated these pranks into tripping pedestrians throwing flour or ash at people seeing streetcar tracks and causing a crash. Oh, my God. One prankster was shot, I think killed and and when pranky died of what they said Fear. So it was kind of nuts for a minute. And then communities started setting up Halloween rituals to keep kids out of trouble. And it spread from there. So this was back in like the 20s. As this is the origins of trick or treat. Yes. Yeah. And nobody really knows where that term came from. But, you know, it makes sense these right? You can either I can either disconnect your railcar, or you can give me a piece of candy. Exactly Fairtrade perfectly good. And so today Halloween has ballooned into a $10.6 billion industry. Good Lord. We buy expensive but cheaply made costumes. We buy candy out the wazoo. We buy all the pumpkins, the core, you name it, and a lot of this ends up in a scariest place of all the landfill. Dun dun dun. But we're not here to suck all the fun out of the holiday. Thank God because it's my favorite. I know I love it so much. But in fact, you might find that it's more fun doing what I'm going to suggest. Okay, today we're going to explore how to do Halloween a little more sustainably, and we're going to be starting with DIY costumes. Welcome to greening up my act Yeah, hello, yeah. Hi, Tiffany. Cat so that was kind of a fun little research idea. Yeah, I so Mischief Night or goosey? And I think it's something they still do on like the East Coast I know in like Philly, in northern New Jersey, where they had a lot of convenience stores stopped selling eggs, because kids were like, egging cars and stuff. I mean, it's been going on since the 70s. Or I don't know. But it was something only my my time in northern New Jersey taught me about but if you bring up Mischief Night or goosey night to people in New Jersey, they'll be like, Yup, yeah, it makes sense. It has always kind of been associated with mischief. Yeah, it's the night before Halloween to Oh, interesting. Yeah. Okay. Well, you guys, we should talk about what greening up my act is a right. It's Welcome back. It's been a month. Welcome back. Yeah, we're trying to do a slightly different format, where we do a little bit of an intro just to make it more focused for our listeners, for you. That works for you. Yeah. So you know, you hate it. Yeah. And then, you know, then you skip forward for the chit chit chat that we do afterwards. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, we are two marketing writers. And I need to point out because someone on YouTube got grumpy. We're not journalists. And we're not scientists. We thought we made that clear. But I'm going to make it extra clear. Right. We're getting writers not even amateur. Yeah. Journalists. Were Oh, come on, ever again. Yeah, we've done some journalism in our pilot. I'm not going to claim that a fact checker. I'm not a rigorous investigative journalist. Right? We do fact check. Actually, we do. We do. But not we don't have like a department. Right. It's just the two of us. Yeah. Yeah. Well, the stinky dog helps a lot. He does. He does. He reminds me of methane. The importance of methane on climate change. Anyway, it took me a minute. I also currently have COVID I'm positive. My test was positive yesterday. We are recording remotely so just yeah, we're saying that spreading it but if my voice sounds insane, that's why and if you have COVID brain will forgive you. I do so yeah. That's but yes, methane, I get it. Yeah, we are. Yeah. So we our goal is to find products and systems. that are actually sustainable. And we do the research. And we dig through the marketing who we the Green, who E, green UI to figure out what to actually worth our time. And what's a big fat waste of time and misleading and greenwashed. Also, what's effective, what actually works, because there are, quote, unquote, sustainable strategies out there that are basically snake oil. Also, what is cost effective? Because if it's going to cost you three times as much, might not be worth it for you. Yeah, that's a big, huge, it's so expensive. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, and that's part of the green living lifestyle, I think, is the show Enos of it. It's not just for rich people. No, it shouldn't be. It doesn't have to be because a lot of the stuff is like the DIY version is as effective or more effective, and you're paying like, an eighth of the costs. Yeah, you're not paying a marketing department. So unfortunately, no, we're like, let's play marketers, by the way, we need that we need but we're writers, so yeah. Yep. Awesome. So, DIY Halloween costume. Do you know what you're going to be for Halloween this year? Do you still dress up? Um, I haven't since COVID. The last time I well. Let's see. Yeah, the last time I dress up I think I was. I actually have this a little bit later. But one half of Ace Ventura meaning my husband and I went as Ace Ventura. Two different types of formats. I don't know what you call it. Yeah. I was the like, red pants. Whatever he was in the pink tutu, so that's what my the man I'm dating when is last year. So nice. It's a fun one. Yeah, an easy one to it's so easy. You just need a two two and a like a Hawaiian shirt and like, put your hair up in a spike. Yeah, exactly. Like Wolverine. Yeah. Yeah, it was pretty annoying because Joe got all the attention because he was a man and a tutu. And I was like, this was my idea. I'm a woman in a tribe. You're in drag. Yeah. I'm like, paid into me people. Yeah, come on. Yeah, nobody is unless you're a sweaty mouse. Nobody cares what you are for Halloween. Oh, totally. And he just like threw it on last minute. Yeah, come on. He looked great. So yeah. Well, yeah. What about you? This year? I'm gonna go as a werewolf. Oh, nice. Because shameless plug. I should be releasing my first set of supernatural fiction in time for Halloween. Hopefully. I hope I hope recording this spurs my publisher to actually get it done. I have to do some work with him. But yes, I and the main story in that collected work is about a wolf, a werewolf. So that's amazing. Yeah. So I'm going to try and do some cross marketing. Nobody's gonna care. I mean, but I want to be a lady lady werewolf, or maybe just a werewolf. I don't know if I have to be lady werewolf. But we'll see. Right? I want any attention. I should probably be a sweaty werewolf. But yeah. No, that's awesome. That's a good idea. But I would I mean, I, I do need some ideas on how to how to do this. Right. I'm excited. We're talking about this tonight. Yeah, yeah, I might have some ideas for you. Awesome. So let me first go through my sources. And then we'll talk about costumes. Perfect. So I looked at a survey by Halloween costumes.com. And another survey by a charity called Fairyland Trust, which I loved. The History Channel had an article on the history of Halloween, while it hub, collected a bunch of Halloween statistics, Forbes, and a bunch of other places that all list had just talked about more sustainable Halloween in general. So do today Yale sustainability, all these colleges. Interesting, I guess. Okay. Just, like isn't just gonna be for parents and they're like, but I guess parents read those things, too. I don't know. Yeah, yeah. We could talk about college. All day and all day a waste. But anyway, um, yeah, just dumpsters full of good, perfectly good stuff. Anyways, yeah. And then the honest consumer was another one I read. The BBC wrote about sustainable, more sustainable costumes. Save your wardrobe.com also talked about costumes. And then I talk a little bit of at the end about candy. So the ring a tan Foundation, ethical consumer.org. Who is going wild minimalist? Yes. Talked about palm oil and eco friendly or candy show? Yeah. All right. I'm interested in all of this. Yes. So this This comes out on October 17. So I feel like people still will have some time this is yeah, this is you can listen to this before your last ditch effort to get up, throw a Halloween costume together, right? Yeah. If you haven't already added to cart, then maybe listen to this and get some last minute ideas. So 40% This is what I found out 40% of people say they use costumes once, and then they're trashed or donated. Ill. That's not like really that surprising if you think no, I mean, especially you go to the spirit Halloween store. Those things don't last either. They're no, they unravel. I mean, they're, they're so pricey. Yes, we're going to talk about that. And then this is just sort of about costumes in general. But like, there aren't that. Go figure. There aren't that many studies on how much waste is created from costumes, but there was one that I found just the UK. So they only look to the UK. And each year 2000 tons of clothing and costume is wasted. Oh my god. It's just the UK and they're a tiny island. Yes. Isn't that crazy? That's and 7 million costumes are thrown away each year. And I couldn't figure out if that was just the UK, or more like global but I think that's just the UK. Well, okay. And I hate to ask this. Do you know which countries participate in Halloween costumes? Because I feel like it's a very it is very western thing. Yeah, question. I don't know. Actually. Like, I don't need a French do it? Like? I don't know. I don't know. Okay, something to think about. But we are a US based podcast. So I'm sorry to our friends. And I think we have a listener in Germany and maybe Switzerland. And if this doesn't appeal to you, I'm sorry. No friends in India if you don't dress up for Halloween, right, but now you get to learn a lot about like the greatest American culture thing ever. So her Yeah, totally. Um, but the other problem is most of this material is oil based plastic. So mix. It's not made from good stuff or sound can be recycled, or Yeah. Okay. Make sense? Yeah, because like most of it, 80% of it is made from polyester or non biodegradable fabrics. Which and if you listened to our fast fashion episode, you know that that's the worst. Yes. Yeah. Go back and listen to that. If you haven't the one on thread up. Yeah. Yes. So I think I was saying, I just had to have a hacking fit. But, um, he was talking about DIY DIY costumes. So that is an option that helps not contribute to landfill waste. And there's, there are a couple I mean, it can contribute depending on how, yeah, yeah, there are ways you can kind of make, make it a little bit more sustainable. So first off, I have this stupid cough drop, and I can tell I can hear it in my voice. You know what to hide my cheek like charming squirrel. Okay. So look through what you already own to start. And it's kind of fun to look through your closet and think like, Oh, what, what can I make from this? Like? Do I have a black turtleneck that I can turn into a cat? wizard or like whatever Steve Jobs? or Steve Jobs or Elizabeth? Elizabeth Holmes? Funny. I would like to say as someone who has done theater and does my own costumes, you don't need much for people to get the idea of the costume. Like you were saying like, Ace Ventura is just, you know, it doesn't have to be the right exact Hawaiian banana doesn't have to be the exact right to to, you know, it could just be close and people get it. Uh huh. So yeah, and I think people don't really pay attention to the smaller details. No, it's your unless you're at a costume contest where, you know, somebody's judging how finely sewn your hand sewn garment is or whatever. But it's generally just to give the impression of the costume. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And actually, I found I have some quotes from people. These two friends who make really cool costumes from vintage clothing relevant, common write up that talks about that. So I wanted to look at DIY Halloween costumes in the same way that we look at other products. Okay, and stuff. Yeah. Yeah, it was a little bit but. So one is it easy to do so? Because we can't ask like is it easy Is it cost, you know all these things. And it definitely takes more time to make your own then pushing like add to cart. But I also feel like sometimes you get those costumes and they don't fit right. Or you have to alter them anyway. Or they fall apart. Yeah, instantly. Are they are they're just not what they look like, or they don't come with as many pieces as you thought they did. Yes. Right. And so I think it's way more fun to make. So like, it may not be as easy, but I think it's like way more fun, even if you're not super crafty. And you could follow Matilda and liberty might they might be sisters. I didn't really look into them that much, but on Instagram, and we can link them. They have this sort of famous Instagram post where they are from Scooby Doo. And they the costumes they have are fully thrifted Oh, nice. And they look so cool. Like, it's not like like it was exactly like what you're saying. It's not like it. What they're wearing isn't a costume. But yeah, it's obvious who they're trying to be. Oh my god, I've sent this. Yeah, I have so many. Maybe at the end of this episode, we can go through the various Halloween costumes that I have just made out of things I already owned. Oh, my God. I love it. I thought of you so much. Well, so stoked for this? Oh, yeah. So fun. Yeah. So they the two sisters, they told the BBC when they interviewed them that it's light years more. I think they're British. It's light years more fun than clicking a button and having something arrive at your door, which I agree. Yep. And they said you'll never find the exact costume for a character. So you translate it through a color palette. Yes. And you can look for statement accessories like hats or jewelry that embody the glasses. Yeah, if you're going to be definitely from Scooby Doo, you get the glasses. Yeah. Right. Yes. And, you know, as far as ease like I remember, I made a Wonder Woman costume years ago, probably eight years ago. And it took like four or five hours, but it looked really good. And it was really fun. So I don't know, I didn't sell anything. I just use a bunch of hot glue. Yeah. So it wasn't tape. Electrical tape does. Yeah. I mean, it doesn't have to be perfect. And to be fair, I did have to order a couple of pieces for that. So okay, super sustainable. But yeah. But I mean, you could be Wednesday, Adams probably would still oh my gosh, easy. You can I mean, you might have to buy a black wig. But even you don't even have to, you know, right? I mean, yeah, if you have hair that's already long and dark. That helps. Yeah, yeah. Um, I know a couple of another one I saw on line that was funny was the price a Price is Right contestant where you basically just have like a bright colored shirt and put your name. Yeah, that's fun. Yeah, um, we also Joe and I were Linda and Bob Belcher one year. Oh, nice for Bob's Burgers when we were like, last minute didn't really care. And I think we literally just got an apron. Like we used our aprons. And yeah, it was so easy on a mustache. Yeah. Yeah, it was so easy. Yeah. So, um, so it's, you know, it can definitely be easy. Maybe not as easy as ordering. You know, junky Halloween costume? But, but on the other hand, is it cost effective? Hell, yes. Because Halloween costumes can be very expensive. And 50 bucks for like, a little polyester sheet. Exactly. Like the prices are all over the place. But the average I found was around 40 or 50 bucks. Yeah. For junk, like something that you can't wear any other day of the year. Yeah, you can't. Like you might not be able to wear it again. Yeah, if you want to, because it might fall apart. Or you can't wash it. It's just gonna melt in the dryer, you know? Yeah. Or just the seams will just come and done. Yeah, exactly. And it's probably sewn by some child and another country. Yes. Paid. Yeah. 100% Yeah, it is. So, you know, you can dry a costume for a few bucks or even for free sometimes, depending on what you pick. So is it actually more sustainable to DIY your own costumes? Well, it certainly should be especially if you make it in a way that you can continue wearing the items after. So you don't like you don't have to glue everything all over the place in my sort of ruin the original clothes you can maybe tape it on. Or like you said electrical tape like something that you can remove. So yeah, shop your own closet. first. And then I also found, there's obviously like thrift and consignment shops, which I feel like you probably frequent for your costumes. Yes, yeah. Yeah. How did you know? You can also give your costumes to thrift stores instead of donating. Or I'm sorry, instead of trashing them. Oh, that's smart. Yeah. Or if you have kids, with costumes, you can there's two places one called the Halloween helpers and one called ween dream. They both give gently used Halloween costumes to children who are homeless living in poverty in shelters or in the foster care system. That's a super good idea. I know I love it. Um, so there are definitely ways to if you do just want to get rid of it, there are things you can do with it that are better than throwing it in the trash. That's great. And for DIY Ng, I found this really cool place. This one's only in Durham, but they seem to be all over the place. I don't know if you've ever been to one near you, or if you know of this type type of thing. But this one's called the scrap exchange. No, I don't know about it. And you can basically donate used, but still in working condition arts and crafts, supplies, or fabric or anything, you might need to make your own costume you can maybe make up I wonder. Maybe it depends on the place. Okay, this place also takes clothing. So it just depends. But I'm sure you can go there and get stuff for cheaper. And you're also using stuff that might otherwise get thrown away. So that's really cool. I found one near me, in Baltimore. That's called scrap creative reuse. And so just google your area and see if this exists. I really want to go check it out. Yeah, just for fun. But this one actually takes like broken costume jewelry. So there's, if you have stuff like this around and you just need to get rid of it even. It's a good option. Um, it looks like we have one called Austin creative reuse. Yeah, sounds exactly like what it is. Yep. It sounds fun. It's like a thrift store for crafts. I mean, yeah. Brilliant. can't really go wrong, right. You can also borrow a costume. If you have someone who's like similar size. Yes, an option. Um, or head to your buy nothing group, or freecycle or whatever, and see if anybody's giving away costumes. And then if you have to buy new, try to avoid costumes made with microplastics. So that's like polyester nylon lycra again, yes. Our threat up episode. Cat. Yeah. dove deep into fast fashion. And we now know that it's not only bad, but it's worse than we thought. Yeah, yeah. And easily fixable by just not participating. So, right. And so that's what I have. And I'm gonna get into my girl Girl rating and then talk about candy. But I want to hear about your costume experience I love Halloween. And I also love last minute costumes. But usually every year I plan at least three costumes. I don't know I've been into it's as a little kid. I remember when I was like nine. So embarrassing. I decided I wanted to go as a book. And I wanted to go as a book I wrote. So it was the most wildly uncomfortable classroom I've ever had. But it was like it was basically a cardboard box that I cut. I cut in like glued together and pasted material over the front to look like you know the cover button like the armholes. Were just not I didn't think about you have to put your arms down. So, but it was also smart because I could wear layers under when it was cold. Mm hmm. So anyway, I went as one of my own books when I was eight years old. I'm obsessed with that. And also I'm really impressed that you made it yourself. Yeah, I mean, my mom definitely helped. But okay, good. She made she made our costumes when we were kids. We had like cats and bear costumes that she had like sewed for us that we wore for years and when you're like put a tutu on it and like oh yeah, that's awesome. Yeah. And then I mean, we all kinds of but like in my adulthood I had a friend so a Zul from Ghostbusters costume for me that I still wear. Oh my gosh. And that was easy. She did a really good job on it. She said that for me like 15 years ago or something and I still I wore It worked like to Halloweens ago. Nobody, nobody knew what I was, but it was okay. Uh, last year I went to Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I love it. But from the chilling, chilling tales of Sabrina and so all I did was I got a blonde wig, but an a headband. And I had like a plaid skirt. And then I just were like, a turtleneck and like black pantyhose, and everyone's like, Oh, Sabrina, and it was like, yeah, it wasn't the exact costume, but it you know, everybody knew who I was, right? Oh, yeah, I remember I got last year I got invited. Not last year. Good God. My life has not happened. It's all mushing together. Yeah, but anyway, like, recently, I got invited to a last minute party and I went into like Hermione, and yeah, that's easy. You just have a cloak? And like, yeah, because I had, I think I had had I had like an actual Harry Potter scarf. And so it was super easy. Oh, that helps. Yeah, but I don't know if anybody knew who I was. Well, I didn't care. I was thinking when you're I went as Daphne from Scooby Doo, because I had. I had red hair and she has the short hair. Yeah. Oh, no, Velma. Okay. I said, Well, I said Daphne earlier when I met Velma Velma zone was. So I was Daphne. I just had a purple dress already. And I had like, kind of orange cowboy boots that were knee high. And then I had like a green scarf. And I was awesome. And I didn't even have Scooby Doo with me, you know, but a few years ago, the best accessory I ever had was we went as Jay and Silent Bob. And so a friend of mine looked like Silent Bob. So he was my accessory for the night. And I just wore like a beanie and like a black jacket and cut off shorts and have a you know, a white tank top and black boots. And I was so good. You were of course because I had Silent Bob. No, but I was wanting to be like the right age. Cool. Well, yeah, I think people I mean, I think that Jay and Silent Bob movie. Maybe the new one had just come out. So it was like renewed interest in it. Okay. Yeah, I don't know. And but yeah, again, I was like, totally in drag, you know? Yeah, I get a lot of Yes, sirs when I pass very well, when I wear men's clothing. Amazing. Yeah. That's what I've dressed up as like the leader of our kickball group in Albuquerque, and I don't know I love. I love Halloween, so that's awesome. Yeah. But yeah, it's mostly the stuff that's already in my closet. You know, I might, I might borrow a wig or buy a wig. I reused the wigs. Oh, we went as the pan. We should just have like a post of all the Halloween costumes. i We should. Yeah. It was some girlfriends as the witches from Oh, come on. Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler. Oh, Hocus Pocus, hocus pocus. Yes. So I was that Midler. Good one. Yeah. And we just bought like, I caught up at a thrift store dress and made a new green velvet cape and borrowed a corset and skirt and like, painted lipstick on it in a funny shape on my lips and you know, borrowed a red wig and put it up in buns. Amazing. Yeah. That's so cool. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, we should. We'll do that. We'll do that on Instagram. Yeah, it'd be fun if I can find all the pictures. Yeah, I mean, it's just, I often just look at what I already have in my closet. And like, think of what Halloween costume I want to do from that. Mm hmm. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. It's so fun that way. Yeah. And now I have a kid. So I'm like, yeah. Oh, my God so much. It's, yeah, it's very fun. But I'm also like, kind of struggling because she wants to be an astronaut. And I know that's hard to do DIY. Exactly. And there's some really cute ones that look like actual NASA suits. I'm tempted because Joe, Joe has like a legit NASA suit. So they can be a little matchI twins. Oh my god. So I mean, and again, if you're not going to use it again next year, you could definitely give it to your buy nothing group or donate it. You know? Yeah. For some somebody would want it for sure. Yeah. That's a problem. Most kids they grew up quickly. Yeah, so annoying. I'm like, I could just get a huge one and then just flopping around. I'll fold up all this leaves. Yeah, I don't know. But it's gonna be fun. Because I was like, Are you sure you don't want to be a butterfly? Because she's already got butterfly wings. But yeah. Astronaut Well, hey, you know, encouraged that. People at NASA we can talk I'm planning. Um, alright, sweet. So granola rating the Yeah, so each episode we rate these sort of products or hacks based on how crunchy they are. So we call it our granola rating. And one is saw buggy and then five is break your tooth off crunchy because you want it to be and you want it to be crunchy. Can you do good good hippies nobody wants bad hippies don't get soggy granola. I don't think we would call ourselves good hippies. I'm not a good hippie at all, obviously. So, um, yeah, so for this one, I'm gonna say so for DIY costumes, I'm gonna say, I give them a crunchy. Okay, and that's a four out of five. And I think that's like really solid. The only reason I didn't say five out of five, is because the impact is pretty limited to one day out of the year. Okay, and you also can hack up your costume, so or, like, DIY your costume to death where you can't really use it again. Yeah, um, so I'm thinking like, I'm trying to figure out what I want to be and I'm trying to think through like, what can I take on me? Like, maybe I'll just tape a big rocket to a black shirt or something. Oh, that'd be adorable. Right? Yeah, something that I can just, you know, be done with and not have to be a star. Yeah. Be the moon star. Noon. See? This is why I love it. A star or moon would be really easy op the moon and then just like tape an American flag somewhere on you like the NASA moon landing. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh, I love it. I was like, print out. We'll flag and put on a toothpick. Perfect. So cute. Perfect. Alright, so I wanted to talk also about candy for a little bit. Okay, fair. That's a big part of Halloween. Huge part. And Americans will buy approximately 600 pounds of how sorry, 600 pounds. That's like nothing. 600 million pounds of Halloween candy. Oh my god. And that's just in the US. Although we're probably the biggest consumers of it. But each trick or treater generates about a pound of trash. And this is mostly plastic candy wrappers. Oh, crazy. Yeah. So I got some ideas from wild minimalist about how to like if you're handing out candy, how to do it more sustainably. And I really liked her ideas, but I also have some feelings and thoughts. So she had some really cool ideas. Like you could choose to give out dots or nerds or junior mints and they come in many cardboard boxes rather than the plastic unrecycled bolts to wrappers. Yes, no does. But like kids probably aren't going to recycle them. No, I mean, that's the thing. You're you're just giving away trash no matter what. Yes, that is the thing. card that says please recycle me with every you could but then you're just creating more trash. Yeah, exactly. We're just write it with Sharpie. Yeah, cycle last. Yeah. So you could also she says you can also buy bulk candy like bulk jellybeans bulk Swedish Fish and then package them in your in your own paper baggies. But yeah, what parent is gonna let their kitty Yeah, that's sort of like there's definitely razors and fentanyl in here. Totally. Oh, gosh. Yeah, we don't want to talk about that. Yeah, so I don't think that's really a realistic option. But she did have one that I kind of liked in, you can hand out canned soda. Hmm. Which I mean, you know, there's feelings about soda, but you can at least recycle the aluminum and I feel like people would would probably think if they do recycle, they would probably think like, Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. This in the recycling bin. They're more likely to recycle aluminum than cardboard for sure. Yes. And after our aluminum recycling episode from last season, it's we've we learned that it's actually like a pretty good system. So and but she always sustainable. Yeah. And she also says you could do Lacroix if you wanted to. But I'm like if you wanted to be hated like yeah, if you want everyone. And also I can imagine it exploding all over every three year olds. pillowcase. Oh, that two are just handed out to the parents like in here. Yeah. So I like that idea. I think that's kind of cute. Yeah. But if you have a bunch of kids, it could get really expensive. Yeah. Yeah. I was thinking even like, the little cans I bought like little cans of Dr. Pepper. Oh, yeah. But there was still like, yeah, those aren't that cheap. No, it was like for 50 years I think for probably like about $1 Each less. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we're screwed anyway. Well, no, wait. Insert funny anecdote here. Did you hear about the couple that like, for like seven years in a row, they've offered children. The choice between a potato and candy and most, most of the children have chosen potato. What? I didn't. Oh, man. Yeah, it's like for the eighth year in a row. 99% of the kids chose potato. That is hilarious. so bizarre. There was a dentist in my neighborhood. I used to hand out toothbrushes, which was against smart, but we hate you, but thank you. Yeah, exactly. That that potato thing blows my mind. That's something we should probably post on Instagram, too. Yeah. Agreed. That's so funny. Okay, um, so palm oil is also an issue as the orangutans give it away. Yeah. It's, it's one of the leading causes of ringtone deaths due to habitat loss, because of palm oil harvesting. Um, lots of shit. Like, I would say most stuff has palm oil, not most of but a lot of stuff has palm oil in it. In helping kids is one of them, especially chocolate. And if you must give out Halloween candy, you can try to go with palm oil free or more sustainably sourced palm oil from a couple of brands which I think you're gonna be pleasantly surprised. Yeah, um, one. One is a little niche. But Tony is chock a loony. Have you heard of Tony struggling? Yeah. Okay. I only know about them because I listened to this podcast. And that's why we drink and one of the hosts is like obsessed. I tried it. It's a little too sweet for me. But, um, there's no palm oil in there. So that's kind of nice. Oh, okay. Yeah. And you can get tiny Tony's which are basically snack sized versions of the bars. Okay, I think really expensive. I was gonna say this is gonna be your more expensive option. Yeah, the good news also is Mars and Hershey. Hershey use those two companies that Mars makes Snickers Twix m&ms, Hershey's makes Reese's KitKats and Hershey's Kisses. And they are also bet like way better about sourcing. Okay, okay. Or oil? Yeah. I doubt they're perfect. But yeah, but it's, I've heard this before that they're better. So I'm like, those are the candies everybody wants. It's funny because like, Nestle is not great, but like their selection also sucks. Yeah, they make I looked it up. I was like, What does Nestle make? They make Butterfinger Baby Ruth and Nestle Crunch. And I'm like, Ill so like both candies that are always loved in the bowl. So just like don't buy those for a number of reasons. But yeah. And interestingly enough, Godiva, avoid Godiva, they're like, really? I thought they were like, high end. I know. I mean, who's giving Godiva to kids? No, but he but I just want to throw it in there. Okay. Nobody's given truffles to kids. I know. Well, thank you run out. You dip into your Valentine's Day candy. Right. That's good to know. Yeah. So yeah. And then lastly, pumpkins. Yes. Eat or compost your jack lanterns, if possible. I don't know if you want to eat it. If you've said Jack lantern. Sometimes kids aren't meant for baking, but it was a baking pumpkin and you don't cut it open then. Yeah. You just let it sit there. You can totally like make it into a pie. Before it rots. Yeah. Because 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins are sent to the landfill every year. Oh my gosh. Show. Yeah. You know, or, or Yeah, well, no, I was just gonna say or this one was like recommended leaving it in your yard out of the way for wildlife to consume if you don't want to deal with it. I'm like, Oh, God, smart. You know what we do here? Why? We don't under the Central Texas pig rescue the pig. I've seen videos of this type of thing and it's it's fun to feed. I've gone out there and fed. You do like a great pumpkin drive. And I love it. It's so cute. That is so cute. Yeah. Um, yeah. So that's it. That's, that's that's all I have for? Yeah, yeah, for how to be a little bit more sustainable with our Halloweens. I love it. I feel good about it. I feel like this is stuff I'm already kind of doing but like now about the candy I'll be more thoughtful about that. I haven't had trick or treaters at my house and years I don't know if you have always just end up with a bowl of candy that I have to like, hand out at a party or something. No, I live in the middle of nowhere. Not really. But like I live in farmland so yeah, no, no, we don't even get it because there's nobody coming. Oh, bummer. It is kind of sad. Yeah, I love Trick or treat. Yeah, I one year in Albuquerque. I left a bowl out. Like because I was going I was taking over This kid trick or treating, and I left a bowl out, and like I came home, and all the candy was still in it. And I was like you kidding? Like, nobody rang the doorbell. I don't know, I just live in like the wrong neighborhoods. But I'm like, seriously, I have decorations up. It's not like, that's interesting. And you're in like a neighborhood too. Yeah. How? I was on a busy street in Albuquerque here. I mean, like, there should be kids coming from all over. But I don't know. Maybe Maybe I'm the scary old lady. Nobody wants to talk to you. I totally, totally believe that. I doubt it. But you know, we'll still wait for Halloween. Right? I know. It's gonna be fun. So what's next next week? Almost as horrifying. Reusable menstrual products. Oh, if we had a scream noise, I would insert insert there. I think this will be what the 24th so it'll be our episode or for Halloween, which might get people I'll try to make it spooky. But it's already spooky. It's so spooky. Enough for the reasons you think. So write lots of blood and guts next week. Get ready. Oh, Lord. Love it. Love the tie in? Yep. Awesome. Well, gods but no. Well, sometimes it feels like good. Sometimes. Yeah. And it is going to be a long one. Because this is a passion project of mine. So Oh, cool. Okay, I'm really interested. So yeah, good. I might I I will. I am an evangelical period product person. So you will hear all about it. Awesome. I know. Cool. All right. Well, thank you. And thank you for listening. And if you've liked this, please hit that like button subscribe button, give us a review. Give us five stars. Share us with a friend. Tell we get the news out we we don't advertise so that's that's how people can know of us and it really helps us and and we'd love to hear from you. If you have any, any. Send us your best Halloween costumes. We'd love to share those with the world. Yes, we'd love your ideas. Especially if you have kids. I know my sister has done some great Halloween costumes over the years about reusing old ones too. So let's see your pictures if you're maybe don't send pictures of kids but your pictures of yourselves as adults. Yeah, you can blur out their faces. Yeah, well, yeah. I don't want to post pictures of kids. It's just a rule of mine. But if you want to find but, you know, you parents out there want to find I'm not gonna do fair. Yeah. All right. All right. Feel better tip. Thank you. I will soon get that cough drop. Yeah, we're gonna get some chocolate after talking about all this okay,