Halloween costume swaps aim to reduce textile waste [Video]

This spooky season some people are opting to recycle old costumes in a bid to make Halloween more sustainable – and affordable.

Events promoting costume swapping, recycling or mending are popping up in communities across the country, and one expert says they’re sorely needed to counter the overconsumption and waste that Halloween triggers every year.

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Oana Branzei, a professor of strategy and sustainability at Western University, says Halloween costumes represent “the most harmful form of consumption” since they’re typically made of multiple types of polyesters and plastics that are difficult to break down. They’re also often marketed as single-use products and end up in the landfill after just one wear.

“They have different materials that are never separated and therefore they end up in the … longest-term decomposing piles,” Branzei said.

One Nova Scotia municipality …