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Here are the top ten tips for a “green” Halloween. They’ll save you money, too!

1. Reuse costumes

Tap into the treasures hidden in your closet or attic to pull together a fun, no-cost costume (it won’t take any longer than going to the mall, and will be a lot cheaper). Trade costumes with friends and family if you don’t want to wear last year’s get-up. Shop for accessories at yard sales or resale stores. Use your imagination but don’t obsess. The point is to have fun, not be fashionable!

2. Trick and treat

In lieu of junk food, hand out pencils made from recycled paper, erasers, nickels or dimes – be creative!. My husband used to live in the same neighborhood as baseball legend Casey Stengel – he gave out silver dollars. My neighbor started doling out small cups of apple cider when she realized how much kids love a drink of something when they’re running around like banshees. NatureMoms offers lots of great links to organic lollipops and other fun and healthy treats.

3. Reverse trick and treating

Global Exchange is encouraging kids to help educate adults about Fair Trade cocoa by handing Fair Trade chocolates back as they trick or treat. The chocolates are attached to a card explaining why Fair Trade offers an alternative to child labor, low wages for farmers and a healthier environment. Order by October 13. ...

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When my computer's hard drive crashed this week, every techie I talked to said it was too fried to be rebuilt. So I did some quick research and headed over to Best Buy for a replacement.

In case you haven't been there recently, there are MOUNTAINS of computers to choose from. The salesman was going on and on about this model and that when I stopped him short. "What do you have in "green"?" I asked.

For a minute, he looked flummoxed. Then he got a big smile on his face and practically pranced over to the new Dell hybrid.

"Take a look at this," he said. "It's one third the size of a normal hard drive, uses significantly less energy, reduces packaging and the whole thing is made out of recycled plastic."

I bought it on the spot. It seems like he never would have mentioned it if I hadn't asked for it in "green." Great lesson for future shopping.

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As Halloween unofficially kicks off the holiday buying season, Big Green Purse is encouraging consumers to ask "Can I get it in 'green'?" no matter what they're looking for when they shop.

The idea is to pressure the nation's 1.6 million U.S. retailers more forcefully than ever before to offer the greenest products and services available. Looking for a sweater? Ask if the store has it in "green" - i.e., made from certified organic or recycled fiber by Fair Trade workers. Buying toys? Inquire about "green" dolls, action figures, stuffed animals, and games made in the U.S. from certified sustainable materials finished with non-toxic glues and paints. Thinking about electronics? Request the "greenest" options, which you can find on the ratings pages at Greenpeace.

In all likelihood, most stores, especially those occupying the very un-green real estate characteristic of shopping and strip malls, won't have a ready supply of certified green goods on hand. But that's why consumer demand is so important.

• Given that consumer spending accounts for 70% of GDP, consumer behavior has an oversized influence on the entire economy. What you buy tells manufacturers what to make more of -- and how.

• The Christmas shopping season alone can account for as much as 40% of a retail store’s annual revenue and as much as three-quarters of its annual profit. Consistently demanding the greenest possible goods from now until the end of December -- and buying them when you find them -- is the most immediate route available to change corporate behavior.

• The National Retail Federation estimates that consumers will spend $470.4 billion during the 2008 holiday shopping season, more than $1,000 per household. ...

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The One in a Million campaign is inspiring thousands of women to shift $1,000 of their household budget to products and services that offer the greatest environmental benefit.

Meet the latest "Millionaire": Christine G. from Pittsburgh, PA shifted almost $5,000 in the following ways:

• Used Car - $4,700
• Organic Makeup - $23
• Used books for herself and gifts - $103
• Organic lotions and shampoos - $54

Total ................... $4,881

Here's her story:

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Thousands of women have joined the One in a Million campaign. Participating couldn't be easier. They simply pledge to shift $1,000 of their annual household budget to products and services that offer the greatest environmental benefits. That doesn't mean spend MORE money. It means spend money differently to make a difference.

Deborah H. from Nashville, Tennessee and the mother of two boys, is the latest "One in a Million" winner. Here's how she shifted over $1,000:

• Joined a Winter CSA - $704.50
• Bought Bamboo Sheets - $93.77
• Joined a Spring CSA - $400.00

Total ................... $1,198.27

Why did she do it? ...

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Parents can save oodles of money by taking an "eco cheap" approach to back-to-school shopping.

Where to start?

1. Ignore the huge supply lists that come home in kids' backpacks. Over at the blog Green Talk, Thrifty is the New Green for Back to School Supplies reminds parents to check their "voluminous" stashes of pens, pencils, crayons and paper leftover from last year before buying new.
   SAVINGS: $25-$50/child

2. Use last year's backpacks and lunch boxes. (Mindful Momma notes in "The Price We Pay for Back 2School Cool that kids do just fine with gear they've used before.)
   SAVINGS: $50-$125/child, depending on backpack. ...

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What should you do if you want companies to go green?

Demand it, of course.

It's a strategy that makes perfect sense, given that companies themselves say consumers are the biggest drivers of the sustainability changes they're willing to make. In a recent study conducted by Ernst & Young and reported on by Mary Hunt at In Women We Trust, executives from the finance, consumer goods and manufacturing industries acknowledged that consumer demand was a far greener "carrot" than environmental regulation, legislation, or competition, among other factors.

Readers of Big Green Purse won't be surprised. Our mantra is all about ways you can make your money matter to protect yourself and the planet. But it's great when the very targets of our spending decisions acknowledge how much power we really have!

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One of the biggest obstacles green consumers -- or green "wanna-bees" -- face is knowing what's really "green" and what's just being hyped, or greenwashed, so businesses can make a buck.

A recent poll shows just how confused consumers are.

Called Eco Pulse, the national study, which was reported in Brand Week, asked shoppers open-ended and multiple-choice questions about green issues. The results are disheartening for those of us who spend our time trying to help clarify marketplace and lifestyle choices.

According to the research, many people still don't have a clue whether what their purchases actually make a difference. Neither can they vouch for the eco-status of the companies whose products they buy. If you ever wondered whether the certification efforts of the Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability and other organizations were worthwhile, studies like these leave no question: certified green standards would help hold companies accountable while shining a bright green light on choices that actually are as eco-friendly as they claim to be.

Specifically, here's what EcoPulse found: ...

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As I flew over the Peruvian rainforest, I kept a lookout for flames. I'd heard that, despite international outrage over the loss of millions of acres of trees, the Amazon basin was still going up in smoke. Now I'd come to see for myself, and it didn't take long. Out the window of the small LAN-Peru jet I was taking from Cuzco to Puerto Maldonado, a bustling frontier town perched on a tributary of the Amazon, I saw a tall grey column billowing up from the ground 19,000 feet below.

Not everything was on fire - because much of it had already been burned and cleared. A patchwork of thin, pale green rectangles intermingled with darker, bubbly patches that indicated intact forest. But I couldn't help but worry that the amount of forest left serves more like an invitation to clearcutters than a deterrent.

Oscar, my guide for the next four days, confirmed that that was the case. As we boarded a long, narrow motor boat for our five-hour trip into the wilds that host the Heath River Wildlife Center, the rainforest specialist noted that fires and clearcuts remain the biggest threat facing the region known for serving as the "globe's lungs."

"Why is the forest being cleared?" I asked, thinking the answer was linked to consumer demand for mahogany, teak and other exotic woods.

Oscar acknowledged that logging is a major problem. But, he said ...

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