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Image of Halloween outfits and accessories piled up in a landfill - AI Gennerated
  • 2 mins read time
  • Published: 23rd October 2024
  • Blog by Melissa Cooke

Halloween: Be sustainable this spooky season

Halloween is a scary time of year, but not for the reasons you’re thinking. Ghosts, goblins and zombies are the least of our worries when we look at some of these figures around the fashion industry.

Image of Freddy Krueger Halloween outfit on top of a pile of clothes in the landfill.AI generated content.
Image of Freddy Krueger Halloween outfit on top of a pile of clothes in the landfill. AI generated content.

2,700 litres of water. 

That’s what it takes to produce one cotton t-shirt. 

 

7,500 litres of water. 

That’s what it takes to produce just one pair of jeans. 

 

Scary and shocking!

 

This time of year, it’s so easy to get caught up in a culture of using things once. It’s not common to dress up at other times of the year, so those costumes we buy in a neat package are often only worn once.

 

Man wearing a DIY Halloween costume made of card box. AI Generated.
A man wearing a DIY Halloween costume made of card box. AI generated.

We all know the feeling of rushing to find a Halloween costume, but then we’re left with a witch’s hat and broomstick that we won’t use again. There is a less expensive solution. It’s simple. Make your own costume.

Shop Manage, Oxfam Portlaise.
Person browsing clothes at one of our store.

Don’t spend a fortune on something you’re only going to wear once. It is easy to make a costume from items available second hand. Your local charity shop is a treasure trove of unique items that will make up any costume you need. Look for a little black dress and pearls for an easy Audrey Hepburn look, a leather jacket and you can be a biker. There is so much inspiration if you just walk into a charity shop. 

 

If you don’t have time to go and browse for your costume now, you can start with what’s already in your wardrobe. A really great way to be sustainable is to wear what you already have. Another idea is to swap clothes with friends and family. You might even get to keep something they weren’t wearing a lot! 

And the best part of this way is that you can wear these clothes again, and again, and again!