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Before we dive into tips on how to make your Halloween sustainable, we need to talk about how damaging this season has become; think fast-fast but on steroids.
No one can escape Halloween in October, almost every store now carries either candy, decor or costumes, showing how this has become a season shrouded in capitalism, but for kids it's really just about the costume, and of course, candy.
Halloween costumes are made of Polyester and harmful chemicals such as Spandex and Polyamide. They are made with a chemical process which releases significant carbon emissions during production. Because of this Oana Branzei, professor of
strategy and sutainability at Western University, says Halloween costumes represent "the most harmful form of consumption."
In 2023 Canadians spent 1.53 Billion dollars on Halloween, with costumes barely lasting the night, you are paying to throw something away. What if there was a different way, something more special than going to a big box store and picking out a plastic costume in a plastic bag?
Tips to Start Making Your Your Own Halloween Costumes
I know exactly what you are saying right now, I can't make mine or my kids costumes. Trust me you can, and they can help. Trust me again, they want too!
1. Give yourself time! My nieces and nephews start talking about Halloween in August. We start bouncing ideas around, it usually takes a couple of chats to have an idea cemented in their minds. They know Auntie has a strict timeline of mid September for final costume ideas.
2. Set 'costume' rules based on your skill set. For example: I don't allow Princesses or Marvel characters, they are so readily available even secondhand, and I want to encourage them to push outside what the world tells them they should be! Know what you are capable of, so to not add too much stress to this process.
3. Google will be your friend. Search for 'homemade taco costume' and you can find pictures and videos for inspiration, even forums to help you jump start your project plan.
4. Once the idea is set, there are three options to bring it to life.
a) First DYI and Crafting. Last year my niece wanted to be a taco, so I used cardboard to build the shape, felt for the shell and fixings and LOTS of hot glue. Just a side note: I started to doubt this idea because when I google taco to get inspiration there were so many costumes. In the end the one I created was way better and my niece BEAMED all night long.
b) Sewing. If you are confident in making patterns you can build your own design, I did this for my nieces piglet costume, but you can also buy costume patterns. Etsy is a great place to find patterns & get inspired!
c) Thrift Your Costume. My nephew was obsessed with Luffy from One Piece, so we thrifted his red collared shirt, sash and hat and cut up jeans that had got too short for him. Whatever option you go with will be dictated by the costume idea and your skill level.
Final Thoughts
Making my nieces and nephews costumes has become our favourite tradition. When we first started, I really had to push them to think outside the box, they weren't used to having endless options. Now our third year in, and they are thinking about costume ideas earlier and making up their own characters.
When you start it's ok to get in your head and think 'why put in the effort when there are so many options available.' This tradition is about spending time with the kids or reconnecting with your creative side, sparking imagination, going through the creative and construction process, and giving having a sense of pride over seeing an idea come to life.
Big box stores are doing the bare minimum and reaping all the rewards when it comes to Halloween, making this holiday sustainable takes more work, but with that work comes lots of FUN!
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