If you’re lucky your children might come home with an all natural version of sweets without the high fructose corn syrup. More than likely, their pillowcases will be brimming with candy you don’t support!

Last year, my family focused on easy ways to put a  little eco in your Halloween adventures but this year we’re going a little further. We plan to support Fair Trade and participate in Reverse Trick-Or-Treating this year- Learn how you can too!

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Melamine is has been found in Chinese milk powder and is responsible for kidney stones in infants.  Although melamine is considered nontoxic in low doses, it is described as, “Harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Chronic exposure may cause cancer or reproductive damage. Eye, skin and respiratory irritant.”  The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued the following warning on melamine in chocolate coins:

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Halloween is probably my very favorite holiday. I just love carving a pumpkin, putting on a costume, and playing make believe. Of course, this meant I was overjoyed to stumble upon Green Halloween, an organization aimed at promoting what they call “The Three G’s:

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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.

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