Socially responsible trick-or-treaters don't have to dress up like global warming or a carbon footprint to get their message across this Halloween.

Organic pumpkins, used costumes and reusable trick-or-treat bags are some ways to inject a little green into your otherwise orange-and-black holiday.

Sara Sharpe of Dickson, Tenn., handed out fair-trade chocolate to family and friends last Halloween. (Farmers who participate in fair-trade programs, which pay market value to producers of goods, also generally avoid using pesticides and encourage sustainable farming.)

"The reactions were mixed," Sharpe says. "I actually got teased a lot, and there was definitely some good-natured eye rolling."

But, she adds, "Everyone was relatively receptive, and my feeling is that people are more receptive to green and fair-trade products with each passing year. So, I'm encouraged, and I plan to do it again this year."

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE

One of Kelly Magill's craft tips for having a green Halloween is to create recycled luminaries. Take the labels off used metal food cans, punch holes in the side with screwdrivers and place a beeswax candle on the bottom (regular candles contain petroleum-based paraffin).

Magill says when she was growing up, "I made all the mistakes. We would throw the pumpkin away in the trash and use plastic bags to go around. We didn't buy healthier treats."

Now, the Toyota Prius-driving Magill, who is the mother of a 16-year-old, suggests composting your pumpkin and collecting treats with canvas bags.

She also thinks parents are more receptive to healthier treats for their kids, such as individually wrapped bags of Newman's Own popcorn. If you can't celebrate Halloween without sugary treats, look for candy that has the least amount of packaging, she says.

IT CAN BE CHEAPER, TOO

Halloween is one of the year's most commercialized holidays. The National Retail Federation forecasts Halloween spending to reach $5 billion this year.

On average, people are expected to spend $65 on the holiday — about $23 on costumes, $20 on candy, $18 on decorations and $4 on greeting cards.

But for Angel Funk, it's also a time to save a little money and take actions that are kind to Mother Earth.

She is decorating her Nashville, Tenn., home with organic pumpkins and gourds. She'll compost them once they go bad, she says.

Her 2-year-old, Ian, will dress up as the Man of Steel after she found a used Superman costume at a thrift store for $1.99. She plans to fashion a red cape from some cloth scraps she has around the house.

"We don't have to buy everything new," Funk says. "We're being both cheap and environmentally conscious."

MORE TIPS

Here are more ideas, courtesy of Environmental Defense, Earth Share and Stopglobalwarming.org:

• If you're seeking fair trade, organic chocolate to hand out,Yummy Earth makes organic lollipops that leave out chemical color dyes and instead use ingredients like "purple carrots and red cabbage to simulate the blush of a berry or the pink flesh of a watermelon." However, eco-friendly treats often can be a bit more expensive.

• Flashlights: Don't let your goblins haunt the neighborhood without the safety of a flashlight. Try battery-free flashlights, including ones you wind up or shake to recharge.

• Costumes: Instead of store-bought costumes, get your kids involved in repurposing odds and ends you have around the house or scouting thrift stores and yard sales. Swap costumes with friends and neighbors from year to year. "Don't buy a $20 or $50 costume that you wear once and throw away with all the packaging that goes along with it," says Nashvillian Kelly Magill, an avid environmentalist.

• Bags: Have your trick-or-treaters use canvas bags, pillowcases or reusable buckets instead of plastic bags. Get an orange reusable ChicoBag decorated with spooky spiderwebs and goblins at www.greenfeet.com for $5. "When I was a kid I always carried an old canvas duffle bag my uncle had given me," says Howard Switzer, an eco-architect in Linden, Tenn. "It held a lot and ... was green, too."

• Decorate: Save your decorations and reuse them year after year, just like you do with your Christmas decorations. If you're using candles, opt for pure beeswax. Conventional candles are often petroleum-based.

• Party ware: Use reusable plates, utensils and napkins instead of buying disposable ones, no matter how spookily cute they are.

• Hoof it: If possible, walk or bike to Halloween parties and for trick-or-treating. Avoid driving, but if you must, carpool to help reduce traffic and air pollution.

• Buy local: When shopping for pumpkins, apples and other fall produce, check out your local farmer's market. Locally grown fruits and veggies taste better and save energy because they only travel a few miles from a local farmer's fields, Magill says. Once you've finished carving your jack-o'-lantern or bobbing for apples, reduce waste by using what you can in pies, soups and other dishes, she says.

• Buy organic: Purchase organic or pesticide-free pumpkins.

• Compost: Once the holiday is over, toss your pumpkin and other organic materials in a compost pile, which you can later use as fertilizer.

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Going green for Halloween.