Halloween is just around the corner, and millions of children will be flocking to the city to dress up in their favorite costumes and go trick-or-treating. The house is decorated with spooky skeletons and glowing jack-o-lanterns as they go all out to celebrate the night of terror. But the real horror of this holiday may be the plastic waste left behind after the festivities are over.
The environmental impact of Halloween is staggering.
A 2019 study in the UK found that 83% of materials used in Halloween costumes are made from non-recyclable plastic. “They basically end up in your local landfill,” says sustainable fashion advocate Lexi Silverstein. This year, U.S. shoppers are expected to spend more than $11 billion on candy, decorations, costumes, parties, pumpkins, and more. Here are some ways to celebrate Halloween more sustainably.
1. Shop in your closet or thrift store
When purchasing clothing, it’s worth asking yourself: “How many times will I wear this item?” Where should I wear it? So, what should I wear it with?
These questions are even more difficult to answer if you’re buying a disposable Halloween costume that you’ll never wear again. According to the Fashion Transparency Index, there are enough clothes in the world to dress the next six generations. Find costumes at thrift stores and look for clothes you can wear again next Halloween or for regular events.
“This year, I want everyone to shop their closets,” Silverstein said. For example, a regular white button-up shirt can be used for a variety of costumes, including the title character in the classic film Risky Business. A striped shirt, bobble hat, and round glasses are all the necessary components of a Find WALL-E costume. And by using colors you already have in your closet, like all green or head-to-toe pink, you can match them with many of the iconic characters like Barbie and Glinda.
2. DIY or rent
Some of the most memorable Halloween costumes are those made with your own hands, such as butterfly wings made from cardboard or jellyfish made from an umbrella and scrap wood. For parents with growing children, making a simple cloak is especially helpful for princesses, superheroes, magicians, and more. The best part: The cape is adjustable so it won’t stretch out too quickly and will last you through the days of Halloween.
Hosting a costume swap is another way to minimize the purchase of disposable costumes. Do you have a costume your friend once wore that you’d love to recreate? You can borrow it or trade it for your own.
“Last year, a friend of mine went with his partner to play Padme and Anakin, and this year I’m going with my partner to play Padme and Anakin,” Silverstein said. “I’m reusing her costume from last year, and some of my costumes are rented.”
3. Try to recreate the look with face makeup
Many of the mass-produced costumes sold in UK stores are made from thin synthetic materials such as nylon. They may be cheap, but they are also highly flammable. In the UK, Halloween costumes are classified as toys and do not need to be fireproof or flame retardant. This means that if exposed to an open flame, it can ignite and may be difficult to extinguish quickly. This exact same thing happened to TV presenter Claudia Winkleman’s daughter in 2014. A recent assessment of costumes for children under seven in the UK found that more than 80% of costumes tested failed basic safety tests for flammability and cord suffocation. .
In the United States, thanks to the Flammable Fabric Act, costumes sold at retail stores are required to be flame retardant, but that doesn’t mean the costumes won’t catch fire; all the issues related to flammability concerns have been resolved. It does not mean that Toxic chemicals found in Halloween costumes. Vinyl face masks can be exposed to heavy metals, and masks made from flexible plastic are more likely to contain phthalates.
While recreating your mask with face paint may seem like a better option, many traditional face paints can contain lead, arsenic, and mercury. Experts recommend using regular cosmetics or cosmetic-grade face paint from the drugstore, as there are stricter regulations.
If you really want to know what’s in the products you put on your face, why not try some items you have in your kitchen cabinet? You can make fake blood from corn syrup, beet juice, and cocoa powder.
4. Remove cobwebs
This time of year, you might want to decorate your front yard or tuck in some fake cobwebs. However, these cottony spider webs can be a death trap for wildlife. They are often placed in trees, bushes, and windowsills where birds and other small animals can become trapped, posing a risk of injury or death. Instead, window displays with light-up LED webs or crocheted spider webs offer a safer, longer-lasting alternative that can be reused for future decorations.
“Every time I see fake spider webs painted on windows, I get excited. Not only do they look great and celebrate the holiday spirit, but they also eliminate the threat to birds of window collisions. ,” said director Dustin Partridge. Conservation and Science at the New York City Bird Alliance. Millions of birds die each year by colliding with windows, many during migration, and this still happens today. “Painted cobwebs and stickers block reflective windows and can actually save birds.”
5. Make pumpkin into soup
Each year, approximately 2 billion pounds of pumpkins are harvested in the United States for whole sale. Making soup from the pulp and roasting the seeds are ways to use it for purposes other than decoration.
You may want to spray your carved pumpkins with hairspray or glitter to make them stand out, but this may limit how you can reuse them after the festivities are over. “Avoid spraying your pumpkins and find a good use for it later,” Partridge says.
After the celebrations are over, you may be wondering what to do with all the jack-o-lanterns that decorated the halls of Halloween past. One satisfying way is to crush and compost them. Some zoos and farmers accept them as animal food.
Katrina Kasperici, chief marketing officer at Remake, a nonprofit organization that advocates against fast fashion, said, “A lot of the concerns about spending are on the consumer, but the real responsibility lies with those who take advantage of these holidays.” We are a company that does that.” “All you really need to do is create less. How many Halloween costumes do you need?”
Remember that not everything is your fault. Trying to reduce this holiday footprint can be difficult if companies are constantly producing large quantities of these disposable products. Halloween candy is one of the biggest sources of plastic waste.
Carly Schildhaus of the National Confectionery Association said, “[We]reduce the environmental impact of confectionery packaging while adhering to the highest standards of food safety by making it fully recyclable, compostable, or reusable. We are focusing on developing new packaging.” “Federal, state and local governments also have a role to play in repairing and advancing the nation’s broken recycling infrastructure, which is not yet fully compatible with flexible packaging.”
Some candy companies distribute collection bags for recycling candy wrappers into dog poop bags. But that’s just part of the big plastic problem this holiday season.
