(TWH) – Halloween can present a variety of challenges for Pagan parents from the spiritual to the practical. This article focuses on the latter and the single-use plastic waste linked to the Halloween holiday. Costumes, masks, decorations, and even candy wrappers all contain plastic. In this article, “Halloween” refers to the secular, commercialized holiday and its celebration.
Image credit: Brittany Trotter, from the National Archives at College Park – Still Pictures as part of a cooperation project facilitated by the Digital Public Library of America and its partner National Archives and Records Administration. Public Domain
Recently, TWH spoke with two Pagan parents about Halloween-generated plastic waste. Nathan Hall, a Witch who parents a 5-year-old, and Rachel Mohan, a Heathen who parents one child, a 12-year-old, and two teenagers. Both are TWH contributors.
Talking with children about seasonal plastic waste
Hall described his strategy for talking about plastic waste with his 5-year-old son. He said, “As an environmentalist and a witch, I try to convey preferences to him for things that will last [for] years. … I talk to him about finding and using objects that will last a long time, so this tends to be durable toys that we can share with other parents when he no longer plays with them.”
Mohan told TWH, “Three of my four children are older (12, 15, 19) and so I don’t need to simplify the discussion anymore, but I did begin in simpler terms when they were younger.”
Candy display in Publix in Clearwater, FL – Image credit: Matthew Hoobin – CC BY-SA 4.0
Mohan continued, “For kids, this [dangers of single-use plastic] can be an abstract concept, so I would also point out when we saw Halloween trash on the ground, like masks, ripped decorations, or wrappers, and ask them how that looked. … What happened when that trash went into the gutter, where would it end up? Did they think it might affect the animals in the neighborhood?”
Hall’s talks appear to have produced results. He continued, “When I hear my son ask why so many people throw trash on the ground, and especially when he asks to go on “trash walks,” which literally entails us walking around our neighborhood, parks or the beach and collecting garbage, I know I’m having a positive impact.”
Mohan has also noticed results. She reported, “As my kids have grown older, they’ve begun to notice discarded trash more actively without me pointing it out to them.”
In addition to the results of her efforts, Mohan has become aware of a growing political sophistication among her children.
She said, “They are recognizing that they are being marketed to. They love candy, especially one of the kids, but they also are more aware of how things are designed to manipulate how they feel about them. This doesn’t stop them from wanting candy, but I have noticed that their focus has shifted to be more experiential” activities.
Halloween linked plastic waste
Fairyland Trust, a UK-based family nature charity, surveyed 19 retailers in the U.K. in October 2019. They found that 83% of the material in 324 textile items contained oil-based plastics. Of those plastics, 69% were polyester. In the U.K., people throw away seven million Halloween costumes each year. A 2021 follow-up report found similar figures.
The Guardian reported that plastic has been found in costumes, party decorations, glittery makeup, hats, masks, synthetic wigs, and even outfits for dogs.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) reported on a survey in the U.S. about plans for Halloween. They reported that 65% of those surveyed planned to celebrate Halloween. Those celebrants would spend over $10 billion on Halloween items. Halloween may be following the commercialization of secular Christmas with costumes instead of gift-giving. Decorations already are present. Halloween greeting cards are starting to appear.
Alternatives to single-use Halloween plastic
On a-family level, Mohan described her strategies. She said, “I have more often than not encouraged them [her children] to create [their] costumes with things we already have, or I have sewn or made costumes. When they were younger, they did often ask why I wouldn’t buy them costumes from the store.”
She told them that making their own costumes saved money. With that saved money, she could buy them other “treats” that would last longer.
Mohan said, “What we try to do is to use what we have on hand as much as possible. I encourage them to create decorations by drawing or cutting and pasting, and we hang those. If they had to take items to school to pass out to their classes, I tried to get things like pencils or erasers or other items with less packaging or a more durable use than bite-sized candy. We carve pumpkins, then [we] roast the seeds so they aren’t wasted. Costumes we’ve made over the years for zero dollars include Midlife-crisis cat lady (daughter won an award for that one), a ghost, a dinosaur, a Naruto character, a black cat, a witch.”
Structural issues
Plastic permeates consumer culture. Substantial commercial activity can potentially generate large amounts of plastic waste.
Halloween cupcakes at a Whole Foods – Image credit: Rachel Kramer Bussel – CC BY 2.0Mohan also mentioned pressure from the large society on parents. She said, “Industries and advertising make it so difficult for parents to avoid purchasing huge amounts of single-use plastic. Schools and other facilities can also contribute to the overwhelming pressure to buy things that will immediately be thrown away the day after Halloween. Some parents try to craft homemade treats only to be told that they aren’t allowed for school parties or at events for safety or hygiene reasons. And products in biodegradable or compostable packaging are usually much more expensive. Finally, that ‘eco’ packaging is often only compostable in special facilities that many [people] do not have access to. The temptation to shop for affordable items at the dollar store is strong when the budget is tight.”
The Fairyland Trust suggested the people make “their own [costumes] from non-plastic materials.” They felt, however, that “without regulatory action to limit plastic entering the supply chain a comprehensive solution is unlikely to be found.”
Hall added, “Holidays in general, and particularly Halloween, are particularly challenging because of the amount of cheap, petroleum-based toys and clothing that are produced for it. There is a creeping sense of futility in fighting against the current of the over-culture, but I wouldn’t be a Witch, an environmentalist, or a conscious father if I let that influence the choices I make.”
There are many commercial and personal resources on making personal costumes on the internet. The Fairyland Trust has also produced YouTube videos:
- Get #SewSpooky with a homemade Halloween | Hubbub Vlog
- How to make a DIY Halloween Skeleton costume #SewSpooky I Hubbub Campaigns
- How to make a DIY Halloween Bat costume #SewSpooky I Hubbub Campaigns
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