Online charity shop Thriftify.ie which represents 98% of Ireland’s charities, wants to encourage you to have a “Green Halloween” this year, and opt for a preloved outfit to upcycle or repurpose.

Thriftify has thousands of fashion items online that can be altered to create a wicked Halloween costume, thus saving thousands of kilos of waste going to landfill.

Halloween is not a planet-friendly holiday. Millions of kilos of plastic goes into making accessories and unsustainable fabrics are often used in cheap Halloween outfits which will end up in a bin and will in the long run add to the world’s waste problem.

It is estimated that mass-market costumes will use about 500 tons of plastic this year in Ireland alone, using non-biodegradable, oil-based plastics used in many costumes, masks and accessories- the same materials you find piling up in landfills and oceans. On top of this, there is the plastic packaging that many of these masks and single-use costumes usually come in, plus the carbon emissions getting these cheap outfits from the Far East and other countries that mass produce plastic goods.

This year, online charity shop Thriftify.ie are urging people to have a “Green Halloween” and shop for a preloved outfit to upcycle. Get creative by chopping, sewing and repurposing to see what kinds of weird and wonderful Halloween costumes you can conjure up! The site has options such as old bridal gowns, black witchy dresses and shirts which could double up as a clever zombie outfit, a corpse bride or a spooky witch!

Not only will you be doing good for the environment, it will also be a fun activity for you and your pals or your family. You can challenge yourselves to be as whacky as possible and get out the sewing kit to alter and repurpose.

CEO Of Thriftify and climate activist Rónán ó’Dálaigh says:

“We want to encourage folks to have fun with costumes but make it a sustainable holiday, by opting for a preloved garment and getting creative with it. There are thousands of items on Thriftify.ie from white shirts to black dresses to things with sequins and vintage pieces so if you think outside the box, you are sure to find something that will work for what you have in mind and you can wear consciously!.”

Thriftify will post you your finds in a biodegradable bag too.

Get online at www.thriftify.ie and tag your finds on Instagram! #ThriftifyGreenHalloween