Green Options

Empty cardboard toilet paper rolls are one thing that everyone seems to have.

My kids love to play with them to make binoculars and all sorts of fun playthings.

I have found several creative ways to transform toilet paper rolls. Favor boxes for special occasions and parties are one way to put them to good use.

Anyone can easily take empty rolls and turn them into fun party favors, especially for Halloween.

I know it’s over a month away, but with the cooler weather that has set in, my kids and their friends are suddenly all a buzz about Halloween.

I usually don’t buy my Halloween candy until Halloween morning. If I buy it any earlier, it doesn’t last until October 31st and I end up buying more that day anyway. But this year, I just ordered my first bunch of Halloween candy. This won’t be candy that I’ll be handing to the kids who knock on my door. It’s candy that my boys will be handing out as they go door to door.

They will be taking part in Reverse Trick-or-Treat, a program that Global Exchange is sponsoring. From their website:

This year, Trick-or-Treaters across the US will unite to help end poverty among cocoa farmers and promote Fair Trade as an alternative by giving Fair Trade chocolate back to adults while Trick-or-Treating door-to-door in their communities. Each chocolate is attached to a card with information about problems in the cocoa industry and how Fair Trade provides a solution.

What is so special about Fair Trade chocolate? For chocolate to be Fair Trade Certified, the farmers who grow the cocoa beans must be paid a fair wage for their crop. Some of the other criteria for Fair Trade Certification include using sustainable growing practices, providing workers with safe and healthy working conditions, and making sure that no abuse of child labor occurs.