How to celebrate Halloween without terrorizing the planet

(CNN Spanish) – If Halloween horror movies scare you, imagine this: tons of plastic made from fossil fuels rush through the ocean suffocating marine life.

That is terror.

83% of Halloween costumes and clothing that are promoted to be worn during this celebration are made of plastic, according to a 2019 report citing FashionRevolution, an international non-profit organization dedicated to promoting an environmentally friendly, safe and transparent fashion industry. Of that total, 69% was polyester according to the report, based on a survey of the UK’s 19 largest retailers. There alone, seven million costumes are thrown every year.

A 2021 update of the report suggests that, despite some progress to replace the use of plastic in garments with other materials such as cotton and in accessories with metal and glass, for example, the general situation remains: polyester continues to be the main material.

So plastic is still one of the main Halloween materials. And it remains one of the main threats facing our planet (11 million metric tons of plastic waste end up in the oceans every year).

Here, some tips from FashionRevolution to minimize its use in your costume.

Retro, iconic, makeup – all the costumes you don’t need to buy plastic for

Iconic costumes … but simple. The costumes of some movie or television characters, for example, don’t need much production and can be iconic. Top Gun, Indiana Jones, Harley Quinn are just a few examples.

If you are going to buy, bet on second-hand clothes. Second-hand garments have two advantages: you avoid unnecessary spending on new materials and they can cost you cheaper. If you’re shopping at a thrift store, a charity, or through an app, for example, try not to be clothes that only serve as Halloween costumes, think about what other times you can wear them. And remember that instead of buying, you can rent.

Retro options.“Check the old clothes of your parents or grandparents, you may find some pieces from previous decades that can make your costume more attractive,” they write in FashionRevolution. Retro and classic, for example, are those of ‘Grease’.

Bet on makeup. Why not dress completely in black and bet on terrifying makeup or a good hairstyle? Here there are plenty of proposals: vampires, zombies, skulls, a cat with a whisker and even the Joker.

Okay, perfect … what if I want a “Squid Game” costume?

Of course, there are costumes that are more difficult to replicate than others while minimizing the use of virgin plastic. But if, like most of those who search on the internet, what you want is a costume from “The Squid Game”, here are some tips so that you avoid buying pieces made entirely of plastic that you probably will not use again. .

If you want to dress up as one of the players, you can try to borrow a pair of sweatpants and a basic green jacket, and paste the numbers yourself. If you do not have, you can buy these clothes but thinking of using them again, for example to play sports.

For the guards’ disguise you can make a similar bet, and incorporate a belt. And for the mask you can bet on some similar black fabric that you have that looks similar, and make the shape you choose with white tape.

The robot girl can be a relatively simple choice: get a yellow t-shirt from your own or someone else’s (but with permission) closets. The dress can be more challenging, but maybe you can replicate it in a material other than plastic, because the cut is simple, or find a similar old one and dye it. Then some white stockings, hairstyle, makeup and that’s it.

It’s not just about the costumes, of course. A good part of the celebrations resort to plastic in the form of disposable cups, plates and cutlery, candy wrappers, containers to go out and ask for those sweets. Here, tips from Greenpeace and of the World Wildlife Foundation for a party without plastic.

Surely there are more strategies to put into practice. The important thing? Let the most terrifying thing of the night be the movie you watch.