Spooky sustainable cardboard costumes combat plastic waste this Halloween

Spooky season is just around the corner – and UK families are being urged to use their imagination this year to create sustainable costumes.

Reports reveal that throwaway Halloween costumes can generate a startling equivalent of 83m plastic bottles worth of waste and with October 31 rapidly approaching, the British public are being encouraged to get creative to end that scary stat.

Leading sustainable packaging provider DS Smith have come to the fore to reveal how to craft fun and recyclable cardboard costumes – or ‘cardstumes’ – with step-by-step guides this year.

With under a week to go until Halloween, the DS Smith Cardstumes Halloween Guide provides families with all the tips needed to build creative costumes with materials found around the house that can then be recycled after the holiday.

And Tim Price, Divisional Communications Director, at DS Smith, said: “With more than 135m cardboard boxes stowed in homes across the country, it’s about time we had a little fun with them!

“At DS Smith, we’re always on the lookout for ways to reduce plastic use and we’re excited to share these easy-to-follow guides to help families reuse cardboard boxes at home, before ensuring they’re properly recycled.”

Millions of people in the UK dress up for Halloween each year – with many of these outfits made from materials which are difficult to recycle, such as polyester.

And not only do ‘cardstumes’ provide a fun, crafty activity for children as they get ready for a night of Trick or Treating, but their recyclable nature also makes them perfect for reducing the waste usually generated by one of the annual highlights of the autumn calendar.

DS Smith are determined to make a difference this Halloween and Price added: “Our ‘cardstumes’ not only look great, they also help in the effort to reduce the amount of hard to recycle material used – and the subsequent waste – while providing a fun and educational activity for children on the importance of reuse and recycling.”

To download the DS Smith Cardstumes Halloween Guide you can visit the website. Share your cardboard creations with us on social media using the tags #cardstumes #cardboardcrafts