Eco-friendlier Halloween candy choices

Treat your neighborhood kids and the Earth with candy that's better for both.

Mon, Oct 12 2009 at 12:27 PM EST

Looking for better choices in Halloween candy this year? There’s a lot to think about. Do you want organic candy? Should it be organic and fair trade? How about vegan? Those are things you’re going to have to decide as you choose the treats you'll be handing out this year.

If you can’t find any choices that meet your wants in your grocery store isles — and chances are you might not — you can always look to the Internet for a variety of options. With the help of the Celebrate Green gals who brought some of these candies to my attention, I’ve put together a list of individually wrapped treats that are eco-friendlier in one way or another than the normal fare.

Sjaaks Fair Trade Vegan Peanut Butter Bites – Mmmmm. Peanut butter cups. Who doesn’t love peanut butter cups? Sjaaks has an alternative to the popular brand. At a price of $65 for 102 pieces, it’s a little cost-prohibitive for some, but others might be happy to pay for fair trade that is also vegan.

Endangered Species Chocolate Halloween Treats – Last year, my family gave out these ethically traded squares in their milk chocolate form. I found the cost to be reasonable ($18.50 for 72 pieces), and my boys thought the chocolate was delicious (so did I). The company donates 10 percent of their net profits to help support species, habitat and humanity.

Sweet Earth Organic Chocolate Disks – You can choose a bag of 100 organic and fair trade milk chocolate or a bag of 100, 65 percent bittersweet organic and fair trade chocolate disks from Sweet Earth for $25. The disks come individually wrapped in Halloween colored foil to hand out to trick-or-treaters.

Sunspire Fair Trade Earth Balls – These balls of fair trade chocolate are wrapped in Earth foil – each looks like a little globe. I discovered Earth Balls last year at Easter and put a bag each in my boys’ Easter baseball hats (instead of baskets, I fill new baseball hats each year – just a tradition we have), and the boys really liked them. Right now, a 5 oz. bag of Earth Balls are on sale on their website for $4.99.

Divine Chocolate Spooky Halloween Balls – Here’s what I’ll be going with this year. I love Divine chocolate, and these fair trade chocolates will satisfy my desire to make sure that the chocolate I hand out to my neighborhood kids didn’t come at the expense of other children’s labor in a developing country. At $4.99 for a package of 22, they also satisfy my desire to not go broke on Halloween.

Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops – Not everyone chooses chocolate as Halloween treats. If you want to give out a healthier, Earth friendlier lollipop this year, Yummy Earth makes lollipops and other treats that are gluten-free, peanut-free, tree nut-free, and contain no type of corn syrup. The cost is $25 for 150 lollipops plus free shipping on orders $25 and above.