November 1, 2019

THE SCARIEST THING ABOUT HALLOWEEN

According to science, the average life-cycle of a piece of clothing is about 3 years...but the average life of a Halloween costume? 

ONE. DAY.

But guess what! Nearly 100% of Halloween costumes are recyclable. YAY!

BUT FIRST, RE-PURPOSE

The first question you need to be asking yourself is "could someone ELSE use this?" meaning...is it not completely trashed/stained/stinky (polyester amiright???) or otherwise unusable.

If the answer is yes, GET THEE TO GOODWILL!

believe it or not, thrift shops do a bangin' costume business each October so they'll be happy to take that old thing off your hands. And Goodwill is my favorite spot because they have a pretty organized system for making sure things get re-used properly.

HOWEVER

If your costume is a goner...do NOT, I repeat...DO NOT throw it out! Most cheap costumes are made from polyester, which is plastic, which can actually be melted down into pellets that can be re-made into other plastics*

and
TEXTILE RECYCLING BOXES ARE EVERYWHERE IF YOU KNOW WHERE TO LOOK!
(seriously, once I realized what these were I started seeing them everywhere, and you will too)

BEHOLD!

USAgain is probably the best-known textile recycling box, and they're starting to partner with local governments...which means they're popping up everywhere. HERE is a list of items they accept. I mostly see them in grocery store or gas station parking lots but you can also find your closest one by CLICKING HERE.

The average American send 70 lbs of clothing into a landfill PER YEAR. PER PERSON.

Don't be that guy. Just don't.

And if you don't have a recycle box nearby? Here are some more helpful resources to call on:

TerraCycle: 
a box you can purchase, fill with your unwanted items, and ship back to be sorted and recycled properly

Soles for Souls:
a national shoe donation program

SMART (Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles):
a national index of recycling facilities and locations

Now GO FORTH!

and dispose of that costume properly. Your children will thank you for being part of the solution and not the problem. After all, it's their home too.

And you have any other suggestions I should add here, SEND ME A NOTE!

Loving you always,

Laurel T. | founder, Beya Made

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