In recent years, we have seen a growing boom in our culture surrounding sustainability and a lower-waste lifestyle. This comes in the forms of eliminating or reducing the amount of single-use plastic by replacing it with other reusable and eco-friendly alternatives like bamboo cutlery, reusable straws, reusable cotton rounds, cloth menstrual pads, etc. Another example of this is being against the fast-fashion industry and choosing more eco-friendly alternatives to get clothing.
When we buy clothes, we automatically assume that we must buy the latest trend on the market (one of the traps of the fast fashion industry), but we don’t need to contribute to a growing and polluting industry to look good and express ourselves. Instead of browsing around the drugstore, the costume shop, the party store, etc., consider choosing cheaper and more sustainable options. We can opt for clothing exchanges, thrifting, upcycling, and buying from more sustainable clothing brands and businesses. The same can go for the moment when we pick the costume, we want for that cool Halloween Party we were invited to or any event involving a costume. Halloween is right around the corner, so here are a few ideas, tips and tricks to put together your costume while being conscious and trying to be more sustainable.
After you have a concept though out of what you want, look at what you have on hand. A good start is checking out what you already have in your closet and whether it works for the costume you have in mind or not. Another option could be borrowing from family members or friends. For example, if I want to dress like a witch from either The Craft or AHS Coven, I check out the black clothes I have available in my closet or that I could borrow from a friend and then I start building from there. If I need something else, I try to browse at the thrift shop. It’s good to try getting things that you can wear on other occasions, or that can be exchanged later.
Other options include upcycling, clothing exchanges, or, if you know how to sew, you can put a little something together yourself. Upcycling is a great way to reuse materials that we would otherwise throw away and end up in landfills and it is also a great way to reduce our carbon footprint. You can also build a costume around some makeup and make it the focus of your look. You can get help from friends if they have skills with make-up and maybe help each other with sewing. Making your own thing out of discarded materials, revamping old clothing that is still in good condition, exchanging, reusing, repurposing and recycling are all ways to keep leading a sustainable lifestyle in many aspects of our lives and Halloween costumes shouldn’t be an exception.
If you’re interested in ways to be sustainable when choosing a Halloween costume you can check out That Helps and Ecocult.