How to have fun without the plastic waste
Halloween is supposed to be a night of imagination, creativity and fun. For one evening, children and adults can become witches, vampires, ghosts, superheroes, monsters or almost anything else they can imagine, but behind the face paint, fake cobwebs and colourful costumes lies a much less frightening reality: Halloween is creating a huge amount of unnecessary plastic and textile waste.
Every year, millions of Halloween costumes are bought, worn once and then discarded. What looks like a little harmless fun for one evening can become part of a much larger environmental problem, with synthetic fabrics and plastic-based materials potentially remaining in the environment for decades.
In the United Kingdom alone, around 7 million Halloween costumes are thrown away every year. Halloween clothing is estimated to generate between 2,000 and 2,079 tonnes of plastic and textile waste annually. Even more concerning is the composition of these costumes. 2019 research by environmental charity the Fairyland Trust and Hubbub found that 83% of the material used in Halloween outfits is plastic, with polyester being one of the most common materials.
A costume for one night is waste for much longer
Halloween has become firmly established as an annual social fixture in the UK. For many families, it is a much-loved tradition, providing an opportunity for children to dress up, attend parties, go trick-or-treating and enjoy an evening of make-believe. The problem is not Halloween itself; the problem is the way we have increasingly come to celebrate it.
The modern Halloween costume market makes it incredibly easy to buy a complete outfit cheaply and conveniently. Supermarkets, online retailers, department stores and specialist costume shops offer an enormous choice, from witches and skeletons to superheroes, animals and horror characters. Many of these costumes are manufactured from inexpensive synthetic fabrics, plastic accessories and mixed materials that are difficult or impossible to recycle.
The survey shows the hidden environmental cost of Halloween when it examined 324 textile items from 19 major UK retail outlets, including Aldi, Argos, ASOS, Amazon, Boden, Boohoo, eBay, H&M, John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Matalan, Next, PrettyLittleThing, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, TK Maxx, Topshop, Wilko and Zara. The research found that 83% of the material in clothing and costumes promoted for Halloween was plastic.
This matters because synthetic materials such as polyester are made from fossil fuels. When these garments are thrown away, they do not simply disappear. Depending on how they are disposed of, they may end up in landfill or be incinerated, contributing to the environmental footprint of an industry built around creating something designed to be worn for a very short period of time. Halloween costumes are only one part of the problem: Plastic decorations, masks, wigs, fake teeth, packaging and other accessories can add to the mountain of waste generated around the celebration.
Statistics can sometimes feel abstract, so it helps to put the numbers into perspective. The plastic waste is equivalent by weight to around 83 million 500ml Coca-Cola bottles.
The most sustainable costume might already be in your wardrobe
One of the easiest ways to reduce the environmental impact of Halloween is also one of the simplest: don’t buy a new costume unless you really need one. Before heading to the shops or ordering online, take a look through the clothes you already own. An old black dress can become the basis of a witch costume. A pair of jeans, an oversized shirt and some carefully applied face paint can create a zombie look. Old clothing can be cut, adapted, layered and accessorised to create something completely original…and that is where Halloween can become even more creative.
Instead of asking, “What costume can I buy?”, ask, “What costume can I create?” The answer might be hiding in the back of a wardrobe, in an old suitcase, in a charity shop or even in a pile of clothes that are no longer being worn. Second-hand shops can be treasure troves for Halloween, offering unusual coats, dresses, hats, scarves and accessories that can be transformed into costumes without requiring the production of new plastic.
Make Halloween scary for the right reasons
Halloween does not need to become less fun in order to become more sustainable. We can still dress up, decorate our homes, go to parties, trick-or-treat and enjoy everything that makes Halloween special.
What we can change is the idea that every Halloween requires a brand-new costume.
Wishing you a happy and sustainable Halloween!
Blog written by www.wendyjenningscreative.co.uk