Green Halloween: Don't Dress To Kill

As one hapless television news crew discovered, store-bought Halloween costumes frequently contain a boatload of carcinogens and reproductive toxins such as lead, cadmium, and pthalates, particularly those made from PVC or vinyl. Even the PVC packaging most costumes come embalmed in can leave phthalate residues on their surfaces.

You should also be wary of store-bought face paints and Halloween makeup that are not only derived from petroleum, but may also contain parabens, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), formaldehyde, lead, and other potential and probable cancer-causing agents.

It doesn't take huge leaps of imagination to dress up a scurvy pirate scallywag or a ballerina princess, so scour your closets, kitchen drawers, toy trunks, and local thrift stores for items you can pull together to create a killer—metaphorically speaking—look. (The Dollar Stretcher has some great, low-cost ideas.) You can even learn how to make your own monster makeup.

Get more Green 'Ween tips here.