Good morning Green Initiative!

We’re back with our second official newsletter! It’s finally starting to feel like fall with the leaves changing color and the brief drop in temperatures, plus we’re only about a week away from Halloween👻 

Just to add to the spookiness of the season, keep in mind that Halloween is associated with some of the scariest sustainability facts i.e. the amount of Halloween costumes thrown out each year is equivalent to 83 million plastic bottles ending up in a landfill :( But don’t worry; with a few changes, we can try to make this a more sustainable Allhallows' Eve:

1. Reuse your clothing or check out a local thrift store to come up with a DIY outfit and to avoid buying into the fast fashion market. If you do need to get rid of some clothing at the end of the season, donate it or be on the lookout for Green Initiative’s very own Blazer Thrift in December 👀 (more information to come!)

2. If you do get to carve pumpkins, remember that you can roast the seeds or cook with the pumpkin flesh (and not contribute to the 8 million pumpkins that will end up in the landfill this November).

3. Choose ethical alternatives to regular candy brands that have been found to use child labor or slave labor to harvest cocoa beans in countries like the Ivory Coast and Ghana :(

4. If you have a little more time, make your own sweet treats or buy from these local stores! If not, maybe you can choose candies with more eco-friendly packaging, like Nerds or foil chocolate!

5. For more tips and tricks, check out this website!

This week on campus!

Community Opportunities

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Otherwise, be on the lookout for some awesome updates on our next newsletter in two weeks, and stay tuned to our Instagram (@uabgreeninitiative), GroupMe, and website!

Thank you for reading!

Best,

Ashriitha :)