Sustainable Halloween Costume Ideas
Make a positive impact this Halloween with these fun and sustainable costume ideas! Many of these options are affordable or even FREE!
If you’ve been following me for a while you know I’m pretty obsessed with making my own Halloween costumes! As a kid I always wanted to wear something unique and never loved the idea of looking like everybody else (I grew up in a very small town, so having the same costume was HIGHLY likely!). As I got older, I still loved dressing up but struggled to find costumes I liked that fit my petite frame, were comfortable, AND did not cost a fortune.
Because of these limitations I started making and sewing my own costumes and have never looked back! I can’t even remember the last time I purchased a Halloween costume off the rack! 🤔 I’ve found that making my own costumes has evolved into another form of creative expression, allowing me to bring my ideas to life and spread more joy into the world. I’m proud to say my husband and dogs are (mostly!) willing participants in my DIY (do it yourself) costume obsession and together we’ve won multiple Halloween costume contests over the years!
In my personal life I’ve been trying to make more smart and sustainable fashion choices that minimize my carbon footprint and expenses. I’ve realized that these same principles can apply to Halloween costumes, and DIY is just one of the MANY ways we can do our part to help our environment.
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WHAT’S THE PROBLEM WITH FAST HALLOWEEN COSTUMES?
Every year people flock to Halloween and big box stores to purchase new costumes. While these costumes are often fun, trendy and easily accessible, there are environmental consequences to partaking in this practice. Similar to fast fashion, fast Halloween costumes are mass produced and are frequently disposed of after a single use. Not only are these costumes often low quality, contributing to a short lifespan, they’re often made of non-biodegradable materials that end up sitting in our landfills. Even more, production of these costumes on such a large scale consumes a ton of natural resources and results in air and water pollution that all contribute to climate change.
Isn’t that frightening?! I’m not saying you should never buy a Halloween costume again, but it doesn’t hurt to be more mindful and consider the alternatives. I’ve listed a few sustainable costume ideas below to get your gears turning. A nice bonus is that many of these options are affordable or even FREE! And who doesn’t love to save money when you’re already spending an arm and leg on candy? 😜
SUSTAINABLE COSTUME IDEAS
Rewear Old Costumes
If you’re like me and love to keep your DIY costumes, you might already have a closet full of options! Even though this might be a faux pas in the high fashion world, there’s no shame in re-wearing a costume from a few years ago, especially if it brought you (and others) so much joy! Chances are there are people who still haven’t witnessed the GLORY of your DIY costume and others who might revel in seeing it again!
Shop Your Closet
What if I told you your closet was actually filled with costume potential? If you stay open-minded and get creative, you can probably come up with a bunch of costume ideas just using your regular clothes.
In fact, DisneyBounding was founded on this exact principle! You can dress like your favorite Disney character without wearing a full costume. You might have to buy or make a few accessories to tie the look together, but for the most part you can use your existing wardrobe to create a look inspired by your favorite character.
Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse
In 2017, my husband and I visited the Color Factory in San Francisco on Halloween dressed as Mickey and Minnie! We used our own clothes and added a few extra details (mouse ears, gloves, white buttons on Mickey’s shorts) to complete the look on a budget.
Borrow or Accept Hand-Me-Down Costumes
One of the problems parents have is kids outgrowing their Halloween costumes. It can get really expensive to keep buying new, especially if you have a large household to dress. A more affordable and eco-friendly alternative is borrowing one from a friend or accepting hand-me-downs from family members. It gives more life to a costume and could be a sentimental way to document growth and pass down family heirlooms.
Thrift Your Costume
Your local thrift store could be a treasure trove for secondhand costumes at a low price! In the past, I’ve searched for the base of my costume from thrift stores because it’s so much cheaper than buying them brand new. You’ll see what I mean in these examples where I thrifted clothes and altered and/or accessorized them to match my character.
In 2019, my husband and I dressed up as Carl and Ellie from Pixar’s Up! We thrifted a brown plaid coat for Carl and an olive green dress for Ellie. Adding other details to Carl’s outfit (grape soda pin–similar, bow tie, glasses, gray hairspray), plus a quad cane with tennis balls (also thrifted!) tied the whole look together! To complete Ellie’s zookeeper outfit, I used existing pieces from my own wardrobe (olive pants, brown boots, belt) and added a safari hat (similar) and a purple bandana. These costumes served double duty as we wore them for my dog Frankie’s gotcha day party AND for Halloween! 🙌🏻
In 2020, I thrifted a royal blue fit and flare dress then added iron-on vinyl designs to make this pandemic edition Ms. Frizzle Dress! Find out how to make your own Ms. Frizzle dress.
In 2021, my family did a Sanrio Sushi theme costume inspired by the Hello Kitty and Friends x Kura Sushi collaboration. I thrifted a black dress from Savers then applied iron-on vinyl to make it look like the original Hello Kitty x Kikkoman soy sauce bottle! Find out how to make your own soy sauce costume.
Finding secondhand costumes (or costume pieces) isn’t just limited to thrift stores. Consider checking out Facebook marketplace or your local Buy Nothing group for costumes that need a new home!
Rent a Costume
Did you know you could RENT costumes? If you’re looking for a full ensemble (costume, wig, accessories, etc.), costume rental shops might just be the place to go. Rental costumes are much higher quality and will look more authentic than a lot of the packaged costumes. Some rental shops also offer alterations and cleaning so you literally don’t have to do anything but pick it up and drop it off.
Upcycle
Transform your trash into costume treasure! Do not underestimate the things in your trash or recycling bins. Last year I was scouring the internet for white plastic containers for my pillbox costume. After being frustrated with the lack of options and high price tags, I looked in my recycling bin and realized I already had the perfect solution – tofu containers! They were the right size, shape and color, not to mention completely FREE!
DIY
You already know my spiel about DIY from earlier, but I wanted to point out a few more perks of making your own costume!
1. If thoughtfully constructed and cared for, DIY costumes can actually last much longer and can be re-worn year after year. My little family has worn our Sanrio Sushi costumes on multiple occasions and it’s continued to be one of our more popular costume looks!
2. There is NOTHING like being asked where you got your costume and proudly saying “I made it!”. I’ve had this happen to me over the years (remember, I intentionally seek out costume contests!) and I never tire of the look of astonishment on people’s faces. I find that because my DIY family costumes are so fun and unique, people are even MORE delighted when they see us!
VINYL HACK: One of my recently discovered tricks is using Dollar Tree permanent vinyl on fabric! It sticks on well enough to stay on during use, but can easily peel off when you’re done wearing it. This could come in handy if you’re wanting to modify a piece of clothing for a costume, but still want to wear it unmodified after Halloween!
Shop Smart
If you are going to purchase new pieces for a costume, consider buying things you would actually wear again in your everyday life. The less we buy, the less waste we create!
Close the Loop
Once you’re done with your costume, avoid tossing it in the trash can!
If it has more life to give, donate it to a thrift store, gift it in your local Buy Nothing group, or offer it to a friend. You could even make a few bucks back by listing it on online resell sites like Facebook Marketplace, Poshmark or Mercari.
- Use my referral code: BLAIRE_F to get $10 off when you join Poshmark.
- Use my referral link to get up to $30 when you get started with Mercari.
If it’s worn beyond repair, see if you can donate it to a nearby textile recycling center. If you can’t find one, try Retold and For Days. They’re two revolutionary companies that are diverting textile waste from landfills. Both allow you to send in textiles to be recycled in exchange for rewards you can redeem for other sustainable products. Sounds like a win-win to me! 🙌🏻
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What do you think of these sustainable costume ideas? Remember you can try one or combine a few together (shop at the thrift store, borrow something, DIY) to create a sustainable, one-of-a-kind costume you’re proud of! Let me know in the comments what you’re planning to wear this Halloween AND if you have other ingenious sustainable ideas I haven’t shared here. Sharing is is caring! 💞
