MSNBC Contributor Preaches on Eco-evils of Halloween | NewsBusters.org

Forget zombies, vampires, ghosts and goblins. TodayShow.com contributor Marisa Belger is spooked by how eco-unfriendly Halloween is (via Daily Gut):

Halloween can be an especially eco-unfriendly holiday. There’s the single-use plastic of red devil costumes, countless candy wrappers (not to mention the refined sugar, high-fructose corn syrup and artificial color of the candies themselves) and disposable decorations. According to the National Retail Federation’s Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, Americans will spend more than $5 million on Halloween paraphernalia this year. That’s more than $5 million worth of stuff that ultimately ends up impacting the earth.

If Marisa is freaked out by $5 Million in spending, wait until she realizes that the actual estimate is over $5 Billion

Washington, September 30, 2008 – The spookiest holiday of the year may bring a bit of needed relief to consumers and retailers. According to the National Retail Federation’s Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, more consumers plan to celebrate the holiday this year (64.5% vs. 58.7%). This year, the average person plans to spend $66.54 on the holiday, up from $64.82 one year ago. Total Halloween spending for 2008 is estimated to reach $5.77 billion.*