How to have an eco-friendly Halloween
- Léa Levy
- Oct 30, 2019
- 1 min read
Trick-or-treaters are being urged to not buy cheap and disposable Halloween costumes as most are environmentally unfriendly.
A recent survey by the charity Fairyland Trust on the composition of Halloween costumes has found that 83% of the materials of retailers’ costumes are made of oil-based plastic, being in majority polyester.
This survey assessed 324 costumes from 19 retailers such as ASOS, H&M, Tesco, Amazon and Aldi, and predicts 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste this year just for costumes.
Alternatives can be found: Wintercroft, a familial British company based in Truro, has been selling masks templates since 2013, which are intended to be build with recycled materials.
For Steve Wintercroft, the founder: “The low environmental impact and the accessible craft of making the masks are important parts of the process.
“The goal was to create a set of masks that could be built by anyone, using local materials, removing the need for mass manufacturing or shipping and with the minimum environmental impact.”
He added: “We urge people to not buy polyester disposable costumes and get creative by building their costume using recyclable materials.”
Charlotte and Hannah, encountered at a costume shop, said: “We didn’t know, but the environmental impact is very important so next year we’ll think about this.”
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