HALLOWEEN: MAGICAL MEMORIES, NOT MONSTROUS WASTE
October is here – and it’s the month for spooky dressing and frighteningly good fun. But what is the real cost of Halloween?
Millions of costumes are bought, worn once and then forgotten or thrown away. At the Daadi shops in Jalón and Moraira, we believe the scariest thing about Halloween shouldn’t be the outfit – it should be the waste!
In the UK alone, an estimated seven million Halloween costumes are thrown away each year. With plastic making up around 83 per cent of the material used in many of these outfits, that creates a truly frightening amount of waste. Many shop-bought costumes are made from polyester, a plastic-based fabric derived from fossil fuels. They can take many years to break down and may release tiny plastic fibres into the environment.
As a charity committed to helping people while protecting our planet, Daadi receives many Halloween costumes that have been worn only once. We want to give those outfits – and all sorts of wonderfully strange clothes – a chance to haunt another Halloween!
The most memorable costumes are often the ones we create ourselves. They are more original, more personal and far more fun than simply buying a complete outfit from a shop. A long black skirt can become a witch’s costume, an old jacket can be transformed into something fit for a vampire, and a slightly tatty grey suit could make the perfect zombie look.
Our Daadi team is already putting aside interesting pieces, including capes, skirts, dresses, hats, jackets and accessories. Come and have a rummage, mix things together and see what spooky character begins to appear. Adults can join in too – Halloween dressing certainly isn’t only for children!
If you need a little inspiration or help altering your outfit, come and create with us in the Daadi workroom. We can help you add tatters, patches, cobwebs and creepy details using materials we already have, rather than buying more throwaway plastic.
Lauren Staton, former co-founder of Snazaroo face paints, will also be happy to offer make-up ideas and advice to help complete your transformation.
By choosing preloved clothes, swapping with friends or making something imaginative from what you already own, you can save money, reduce waste and create a costume nobody else will be wearing.
Every reused costume keeps textiles in circulation for longer. Swap it, style it, transform it – and let your imagination run wild! This Halloween, let’s make magical memories, not monstrous waste.
Find out more about Daadi and where we are by visiting: https://daadifoundation.com.