Goodwill focuses on sustainability for Halloween

Goodwill Industries of Central Florida is working to educate its customers on the importance of sustainability this Halloween.

Consumer spending on the annual holiday reached an all time high last year at $10.14 billion, up from $8.05 billion in 2020, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics. 

Many single-use Halloween items, including costumes, often end up in landfills and produce mass amounts of waste following the holiday.

Last year alone, Goodwill Industries of Central Florida diverted nearly 19 million pounds of waste from landfills and is projected to divert over 20 million pounds in 2022. 

Desi Pappas, marketing specialist at Goodwill Industries of Central Florida, said sustainability is an important factor for Goodwill.

"Goodwill Industries of Central Florida serves six counties and within this local area we are able to divert millions of pounds of materials from our landfills," she said. "In fact, last year we were able to keep more than 20 million pounds from being thrown away. This is important to our mission because all of the items donated are able to be sold in our retail locations, providing jobs to more than 1500 people in our community."

Thrifting a Halloween costume goes beyond just getting a great deal – it has a positive impact on the environment.

While the nonprofit offers a variety of Halloween items from costumes to décor, Goodwill also specializes in DIY costumes. 

According to a survey conducted by Love Crafts in 2020, 65% of 1,500 Americans polled preferred making a costume to buying a pre-packaged ensemble.

Pappas said anything can be used to create a unique and inexpensive version of many popular costumes.

"If you are willing to think outside the box, DIY costumes will help you save money and create less waste this Halloween season," she explained. "Princess costumes can be created from donated prom dresses, shoes,and some costume jewelry. Some of the new superheroes have more casual looks that can be recreated with leggings, leather jackets and high boots. Kids costumes are popular donations but if you don’t get lucky finding one of those, you’ll likely be able to snag a tutu for a ballerina and some flannel for farmer costumes."

Goodwill stores also offer the help of a Halloween Look Book with ideas and pieces to look for when building costumes. Costume coordinators are even available in the stores, dressed in orange, to help shoppers find exactly what they need.

For more information on Goodwill's Halloween offerings, click here. To find a local Goodwill store, click here.