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Green isn’t the colour we necessarily think of when it comes to Halloween. But we’re giving you a list of ways you can keep your Halloween costume green.
Every year, tonnes of plastic waste is produced by Halloween costumes. Fairyland Trust, a charity responsible for introducing children to nature, and Hubbub, a green charity focused on research and campaigning, published a report in 2019 that estimated that Halloween celebrations in the UK generated 2,000 tonnes of plastic waster purely from costumes.
Over 30 million people in the UK dress up for Halloween every year and 7 million of those costumes are thrown away.
Whilst Halloween celebrations this year might be limited to home, we still expect a lot of you are planning on dressing up. There are several things you can do to avoid contributing to the carbon footprint of Halloween in the UK.
- Don’t use new plastic, reuse previous costumes or parts of old costumes if you’re feeling creative. Fabrics are, on the whole, easier to recycle than plastic So if you need a plastic element for your costume, reusing or finding second hand is a great way to cut down on waste.
- Whilst a lot of shopping experiences are limited at the moment second-hand shops or charity shops can be a great way of finding costumes pieces. Or at least items of clothing you’re happy to sacrifice to a Halloween costume. Just make sure you wash thoroughly before handling!
- Aim for a costume that is heavy on fabric elements! Upcycling heavy coats, waistcoats or a variety of hats can make a costume out of any outfit. With the addition of goggles for a steampunk look or capes made from curtains or sheets for vampires and wizards, you can make any assortment look like a great costume.
- Speaking of vampires, if you’re going for an undead look, make-up and face-paint can go a long way towards making you look like a vampire or a zombie without many additional costume elements. For an eco-friendly fake blood recipe look no further! A quick note on glitter: a lot of glitter isn’t biodegradable so if you are looking to be eco–friendly this Halloween make sure you check before you buy.
- Use nature! Foraged pinecones and leaves can add just that little extra magic to any costume. Make yourself a forest sprite or go full forest and go as an autumn fairy (it’s surprisingly adorable) with a coat of leaves.
- Sometimes all your need is the right accessory. A stuffed toy, the right scarf or even just attaching feathers to everything can be a great way to make an ordinary piece of clothing look like a costume. Also, did you know you can knit a fake beard? That’s food for thought!
- Ultimately, the best way you can make your Halloween green is to make sure anything you buy you can reuse, swap with someone else next year, or look into rental options. After you’ve finished with a costume make sure you can donate it to make someone else’s Halloween green next year.
And if you run out of other options you can always go classic, a sheet over the head and some black eyes and you’re ready for a haunting Halloween!
For other easy ways to make your Halloween green: https://greennetworkenergy.co.uk/blog/13-top-tips-ghostly-green-halloween/
Or need some sweet inspo? Here are some tasty Halloween treats that don’t require any baking at all: https://greennetworkenergy.co.uk/blog/no-time-no-worries-no-bake-recipes-for-a-green-halloween/
