By Ava Castro
With Georgia-Florida and Halloweekend behind us, the spirit of Halloween has come to a close with the holiday season fast-approaching. One thing you don’t anticipate when going to college is the seemingly never-ending Halloween themed events and parties, requiring you to have a costume or two (or three). I’m sure you browsed the Athens thrift stores, Party City, and Spirit Halloween in the days before Halloween looking for final costume additions. With all the events expecting a costume every time, it can get overwhelming and hectic. With so many different ideas, themes, and couple costumes, it can be easy to over-buy and end up with too many halloween costumes on your hands. And if you’re like me, you’d rather not ever repeat a Halloween costume!
With the expectation of several different costumes every year, it’s easy to accumulate a collection of props and costume pieces you’ll never use again. According to a U.K environmental group called Hubbub, 88% of Halloween costume materials are oil based plastics. This estimates to 2,000 tons of plastic waste that will end up in landfills. They also estimated 7 million costumes are thrown out in the UK alone. With the US’s gigantic population size, that number significantly expands.
There are a few easy ways you could avoid adding to the Halloween costume graveyard! Instead of throwing out your masks, hats, props, and clothes in the trash, consider these steps instead:
Donation
There are several thrift stores in Athens that accept donations! There are three Goodwills here (Lexington Road, Atlanta Highway, and Jefferson Road), Atlanta Mission Thrift Store, America’s Thrift, Emmanuel Episcopal, and two Habitat for Humanity Restores (Barber Street and Atlanta Highway). If you won’t find a place for your costumes in your closet, consider donating them!
Upcycle
Some elements of your costume may be incorporated into your everyday closet, they might just need some adjustments! Play around with styling and putting these costume pieces in different contexts. Sometimes just taking one garment from a costume and mixing it with casual clothing can create a fun outfit. Maybe save some gloves or a corset for a special occasion, or layer those fishnets under ripped jeans. Or, with some simple alterations, special-occasion costumes can become more casual. You could deconstruct a layered dress or remove embellishments on a hat to make them more wearable.
Sharing and Swapping
There are organizations specifically dedicated to giving those in need costumes for next year! weendream.org donates Halloween costumes to children “who are faced with unique challenges, including those with special needs, physical and/or mental disabilities, homeless children, kids living in poverty or at shelters, children with serious medical issues, kids in the foster care system, and kids who have experienced a recent trauma or natural disaster.” In addition, you can always share or swap costume pieces with friends or family. Next year, consider sharing your past costumes with friends and switching out pieces with each other. That way your costume gets reused and you don’t have to spend money on another!
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