October 9th is “National Costume Swap Day”

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October 9th is “National Costume Swap Day”

Healthy Child

Saturday, October 02, 2010

Every kid’s favorite holiday just got a little more parent- and planet-friendly with the launch of Green Halloween’s® National Costume Swap Day.

A countrywide celebration scheduled to take place on October 9, 2010, National Costume Swap Day calls for Americans to go green this Halloween by organizing a local kids costume swap in their community.

Kids get new-to-them costumes, and parents get to save money and the planet by recycling princess gowns, witches hats, and superhero capes from years past.

“A costume swap is recycling at its most fun,” said Corey Colwell-Lipson, founder of Green Halloween. “It not only means that fewer resources are used to make new products, but also means less packaging and less waste, since costumes often are trashed as soon as Halloween is over. People will really be making a difference in their community.”

In fact, swapping the costumes of only half of the children who celebrate Halloween would reduce annual landfill waste by 6,250 tons, equivalent to the weight of 2500 midsize cars. And that doesn't even address adult costumes.

For tips on how to organize a costume swap, or to find a swap in your area, visit the National Costume Swap.

Note: Avoid costumes and masks made of soft plastics and vinyl, which often contain phthalates. And don’t let young kids wear or play with costume jewelry. Unfortunately a lot of costume jewelry on the market has high levels of lead, and without special, expensive equipment, there’s no way for a consumer to tell.

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image courtesy of juhansonin / CC BY-SA 2.0