Celebrate Green
Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are the co-authors of Celebrate Green and two other books that present families with alternative eco-friendly ways to celebrate holidays. This mother-daughter team has appeared on numerous news and television shows spreading their vision of a greener lifestyle. LoveToKnow editor Sally Painter caught up with the mother part of this team, Lynn Colwell, and had the opportunity to discuss their ideas for environmentally friendly celebrations.
Celebrate Green Interview
LoveToKnow (LTK): How did both of you become interested in starting a green company and writing a book?
Lynn Colwell (LC): We actually had no intention of starting a company when we began. Corey realized that her kids liked getting "not candy" items at Halloween and thought that maybe we could make Halloween a little healthier for kids and the planet. When she told me about the idea, I realized that we weren't talking only about Halloween, but every holiday and special occasion.
I've been a freelance writer for many years and, among other things, wrote the only authorized biography of humorist Erma Bombeck. As soon as Corey mentioned her ideas for greening Halloween, we figured we'd write a book sometime. We knew there was nothing out there on the topic. After the first Green Halloween®, a woman who interviewed Corey for a book suggested that we might want to talk with her publishing company.
Things snowballed from there. Within a few weeks, we had a contract to write Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, and Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family. We began building a following of people interested in making a difference by celebrating in more people and earth-friendly ways.
Between the Green Covers
LTK: What will readers find between the covers of your book, Celebrate Green?
LC: Our book offers hundreds of quick, simple, affordable, and fun ideas for celebrating any holiday or special event eco-friendly and people-friendly ways. In addition, it's a look inside our family and the ways we've celebrated through the years. When Corey and I wrote it, we assumed people would look up a specific holiday like Valentine's Day to find tips, but it turned out that readers were fascinated by our story and told us, "I read the whole thing from beginning to end."
We believe that small steps are very important. Our book allows everyone, whether new to green or confirmed environmentalists, to find ideas they can implement immediately. We also focus on putting the meaning in the greening, which helps readers think about or revisit the reasons they celebrate in the first place. When they do this, they begin to see celebrating green in the context of their lives and are open to making changes.
For the most part, Celebrate Green is light-hearted. We do touch on the reasons behind some of the actions we ask people to take. For the most part, we focus on ways to have more fun while celebrating green and spending less green, too!
Website Features
LTK: Besides your book, what else can visitors discover on your Celebrate Green website?
LC: Much like our Green Halloween website, Celebrate Green and our Celebrate Green blog, offer tips, ideas, crafts, recipes, personal stories, games, and so on. We also offer no cost e-cards for holidays and special events, how-to videos for celebrations, and ideas for great, green purchases via our OpenSky shop.
We have pages for most holidays and encourage readers to tell us how they celebrate green so we can include all of their great ideas. We're especially interested in more information about celebrating ethnic and religious holidays in eco-friendlier ways.
What's Next for this Duo?
LTK: What's next? Another book? Speaking engagements and presentations?
LC: Another book (or six) is definitely on our list. As with so many people, finding time to write is the challenge. We continue to do TV and radio appearances. In fact, we are starting a new monthly radio show on Healthy Life in January. We also write and produce 12 monthly green living spots for the Valder Beebe show. A number of other exciting possibilities (too soon to share) lie ahead.
Green Halloween Initiative
LTK: You also have an initiative called, Green Halloween. What is your mission with this particular branch of your company and how can families become involved?
LC: Green Halloween® is a nationwide, non-profit, volunteer initiative to make Halloween healthier for kids and the planet. We are a program of EcoMom Alliance.
In 2010, through Green Halloween, one million units of healthier treats and treasures replaced conventional candy at events around the United States. In addition, 48 zoos and aquariums across America incorporated Green Halloween into their high-profile Halloween events, reaching hundreds of thousands of parents and families. And of course, individuals, communities, schools and others participated in their own ways.
The Green Halloween website and blog offer information for anyone who wants to take steps to green up their Halloween-parents, kids, teachers, communities, physicians and dentists, and so on. It addresses every aspect of Halloween, not just candy, but costumes, what to do with leftovers, games and activities, parties, recipes etc. We also have contests, like the annual ChicoBag design-a-bag contest which encourages kids to send in drawings that illustrate their view of Green Halloween. These are then voted on through ChicoBag's Facebook page.
In 2010, we inaugurated National Costume Swap Day, which generated enormous interest. More than 70 swaps in 23 states, DC and Canada registered.
Getting Parents and Schools Involved
LTK: How can parents, schools and organizations get involved in greening up Halloween?
LC: Because Green Halloween is a grass roots initiative, we welcome anyone and everyone who is interested.
People can choose a formal involvement as volunteer coordinators that choose to put on an event or green up an existing one. This can be a party, community event, trick-or-treat trail, school event etc. In 2010, we doubled the number of events in cities from New York to San Francisco and everywhere in between. Those interested in being coordinators can take a look at our cookbook, to see what it entails, then email us.
Of course, individuals who don't want to be responsible for events, can simply check out our website and choose whatever aspect they'd like to implement. For instance, schools might like to set up a candy/pumpkin composting event after Halloween. Parents might choose new-to-their-kids costumes by organizing or attending a costume swap. Shops on one street might opt for healthier alternatives (lists are available on the Green Halloween website) and stage a Green Halloween Trick-or-Treat Trail. We hope that people will use the Green Halloween site as a jumping off point and come up with their own unique ways to integrate the ideas into their own celebrations.
Special Thank You to Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson
LoveToKnow would like to thank Lynn Colwell for taking time out of her busy schedule to discuss the work she and her daughter, Corey Colwell-Lipson are doing with Celebrate Green to bring green into holiday celebrations everywhere.
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