Swapping is sweeping the country. And for Halloween, especially, it makes a lot of sense since most kids wear a costume once, then it gets tossed.

Don't spend your hard earned cash when you can attend a swap, have fun and get a new-to-your-child outfit.

Even better, this year, consider holding a swap on October 8, National Costume Swap Day.

It's easy to set up a swap with a thrift store (kids thrift shop owners love this idea), school, community center, scout troop or business. (A real estate company in Pennsylvania hosted very successful swaps last year in several locations.)

If you'd like to give it a try, pick a location, time and date, go to http://www.greenhalloween.org/CostumeSwap/index.html and register. It's free!(And your swap does not have to be on National Costume Swap Day in order for it to be registered.)

The advantage of registering is that people can find swaps by searching (so far 70 are listed around the U.S. and in Canada, but more are coming on board every day), and the media, which last year showed a huge interest in this event, can find you too.

If you need ideas for planning your swap, you can find them on the Swap How-To page.

Additional questions? Ask them on the National Costume Swap Facebook page.

National Costume Swap Day is a collaboration of Green Halloween®, KIWI magazine and Swap.com.

Some people claim they are "sick of green," but in reality, more people than ever are concerned about the environment and are making choices that reflect this commitment. We think it's interesting to reflect on the changes that have come about in the last four years since we started Green Halloween®.

Here's some of what we think is in people's minds as we head into holidays, 2010. (Except where noted, these ideas are based on personal observation and experience):

What the heck is green anyway?

There remains a lot of confusion about what “green,” environmentally-friendly and "sustainable" mean. The consumers we know want simplicity and transparency. What they’re getting is far too much "greenwashing" by companies big and small which has left them confused and frustrated.

The FTC rulings Proposed Revisions to Green Guides are a move in the right direction in terms of clarifying terms and expectations. But for this holiday season, we're stuck with the words "green" and "eco-friendly," which, while remaining unclarified, do seem to carry weight with many buyers. And, despite the confusion, more than one-third (35 percent) of U.S. consumers say they would pay more for environmentally-friendly products according to a survey on “green” living from market research firm Mintel.

Social responsibility and Fair Trade

People may not be able to exactly define “green,” (I’ll know it when I see it), but an increasing number seem genuinely interested in what companies are doing to support their communities or causes, whether local or international.

There’s an increasing interest in where items come from, who makes them, how those people are treated and what goes back to the communities where products are produced.

Some people make it a point to shop Fair Trade stores (online and in person), and are eager to buy from companies that support causes they believe in.

The rise of environmentally friendly toys

When Corey’s first child was born unless you wanted to purchase toys made outside of the U.S., it was next to impossible to find a good selection of non-plastic playthings.

Now, parents can choose from a bonanza of sustainably harvested wood, wool, silk, recycled paper/cardboard, re-purposed fabric and other material choices for toys that are safer for children and that parents can feel good about buying.

Another indication that eco-friendly is in when it comes to kids toys? This year, for the first time, the American International Toy Fair had a dedicated space for green toys.

Health counts!

Until recently, most American parents indulged their children's whims, especially when it came to food (though they did feel guilty about it). Parents had been convinced by marketers that even chocolate cereal had nutritional value!

The explosion of interest in Green Halloween®, has shown us that parents have become much more concerned about providing healthier (and preferably more Earth-friendly) alternatives to the junk food habit Americans have fallen prey to. At this year's Green Halloween events at more than 40 zoos and aquariums across the country, parents were extremely appreciative of the healthier treats and treasures being offered. And guess what? Believe it or not, kids were perfectly happy to receive substitutes for conventional candy. 

Handmade and local are in!

Etsy , the largest online, handmade marketplace grew in its initial thirty-three months to a marketplace with over 120,000 sellers in 127 different countries.

As of May 2009, it had sales of $10 to 13 million per month. By April 2010, sales had exploded to $22.4 million.

Handmade is big business!

The recession probably has something to do with interest in all things hand- and home- made, along with longing for a simpler, less stressful time.

In addition, the “buy local” movement continues to gain steam whether we’re talking about food or other items.

Overall, we know that people are asking questions and are beginning to become much more involved and interested in their purchasing. They may not be totally committed to buying “green,” but they are starting to wake up to ideas around sourcing, life cycles, packaging etc. Instead of buying on auto-pilot, they're spending time thinking about what and whether to buy. Companies tell us that their customers are beginning to ask about sustainability of products as well as the company's commitment to green. Some even make suggestions about how items can be better packaged, for instance, something that was unheard of only a few years ago

Overall, this holiday season, we expect to see more purchases of products that people can feel good about by people who are committed to more eco-friendly buying.

How about you? Have your holiday buying habits changed from 2009? Are you thinking more about sustainable aspects of what you purchase? 

Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are a mother-daughter team and co-authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, available at www.CelebrateGreen.net.

Little did we suspect when we came up with the idea for National Costume Swap Day that swapping costumes is the new black!

We're not kidding.

We announced our self-proclaimed National Costume Swap Day on September 23. A little more than two weeks later, we had registered 75 swaps in 23 states, D.C. and Canada!

Last week, Good Morning America did a segment and in the last few days, TV stations in more than half a dozen markets have interviewed costume swap organizers.

Swaps are large and small, in homes, community centers, stores, churches, libraries and anywhere else you can pull people together so they can exchange costumes for free and keep them from landfills. And they'll be going on all through the month of October. So if you haven't gotten your costumes yet, instead of buying, check out the registered swaps or start one yourself.

And if you want to register a swap, it's not too late for that either. Just do it here. 

Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are a mother-daughter team and co-authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, available at www.CelebrateGreen.net.

We know it's early to start thinking about Halloween, but as you probably realize, one of the keys to living and celebrating green is to plan ahead.

Swapping, as you also may realize, has come into its own. The stars are doing it (U.S. Weekly reported that Reese Witherspoon loves to get together with girlfriends and swap away!), so why not the rest of us? It makes sense financially, but when you throw in the earth-friendly aspect, it's a no-brainer.

And when it comes to kids clothes and especially something like costumes which most children wear once, it's a double no-brainer!

That's why, Green Halloween, in collaboration with KIWI magazine, is launching National Costume Swap Day on October 9th.

We want to raise awareness about swapping as a habit, but especially when it comes to Halloween costumes. Setting up a costume swap among your friends, child's school, at your church, community center or in collaboration with a thrift store, can be a great way to do something positive for your community with relatively little work (don't you love that last part?).

On the National Costume Swap Day site, you can find tips for setting up, as well as listing a swap. If your swap is only for friends and family, the listing will show the city and state. If it's public, the listing can include all the details about time, place etc. 

And by the way, swapping isn't just for kids. Over the last several years, there's been a surge in adults of all ages buying costumes.

So whether for you or the kids, join the fun. Put together a swap and get a jump on greening your Halloween.

And let us know if you've got questions.

Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are a mother-daughter team and co-authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, available at www.CelebrateGreen.net.

All of you Green Girls who live in California, Florida and Texas have spring all year long. But for those of us in the Northern climes, spring truly is an awakening, a meaningful time when too few of us pause to truly enjoy and appreciate its meaning. We're stressed, we're busy. A walk usually includes at least one cell phone call. 

This is really sad.

One cure is to insert some time into every day to step outside and notice. Use all your senses to inhale the vision and life emerging before you. 

How about making a daily commitment? If this sounds dry or boring, link the concept to something you enjoy doing like drawing, writing or taking photos. The latter is a passion of mine (Lynn).

Taking photos and seeing them on my computer screen brings me great joy even if I never print them out (which I rarely do). Photographs from nature inspire me every day, so in the spring, I like to spend at least five minutes taking pictures. Then I load them into the computer and create slide shows which sustain me in darker times of the year.

Celebrating spring to me means taking the time to see, smell, feel and shoot.

You don't have to be a great photographer, writer or painter to enjoy interacting with nature in this way. And it can bring you great joy as you celebrate the PERFECTION of the natural world.

These photos I took throughout a spring and summer make me happy and remind me constantly what I am part of.