It’s around that time when thoughts turn to rainbow colored eggs and life sized chocolate rabbits. What we don’t think about is how our celebrating can have such a detrimental impact on the environment, but we don’t have to stop our traditions all together. Here are a few ideas to making this Easter your greenest yet.

Next to the multi-colored eggs, the basket is one of the cornerstone images of Easter. It is also something that gets used on Easter Sunday and then shoved into the closet to be forgotten about until a week before next Easter. This year, maybe reinvent the basket by placing your goodies in a renewable cloth bag that can be used throughout the year. Not only is this helpful later, but it raises the idea of sustainability in your house.

The next step is filling the bag. A green (literally) alternative to the plastic basket filler is to get the real thing. Take a small amount of grass from your lawn and use that as the as the base for your bag. If the idea of getting on your knees and cutting grass isn’t too appealing, you could always shred old newspaper or magazines and use that.

Now that we have a green basket, it is time to move on to the eggs. The first step is to buy USDA organic eggs, not free range. Not only are the eggs free of chemicals to make the shells look whiter, but the chickens are treated better. You can also use natural materials to dye the eggs, a nice step by step guide can be found here.

Another product synonymous with Easter is chocolate.  It is known that some chocolate farms employ children who are then exposed to the harmful chemicals that are used for very little pay. In order to avoid this terrible problem, only buy organic or chocolate that is Fair Trade certified. There will be a notice on the package informing you if the chocolate is indeed certified.

These are just a few steps that you can take to make this Easter one of your greenest.  And please, don’t bring a live rabbit home for your children.  Animal shelters see a rise after Easter from people who decide not to keep their Easter bunny. Do Peter Cottontail a favor and let him hop free in the environment that you helped save this Easter.