Halloween Costume Consumerism at Syracuse University

Reducing waste, and the hidden cost of convenience.

by Bella Tabak ★ October 3, 2024

From the tried-and-true vampires to the characters in Monster High, Syracuse University students have started thinking about what costumes they will purchase for Halloween. Many questions can be raised about students’ costume consumer habits. Where will they purchase their costumes from? How many will they purchase? Where will they go once they are done with them?

Olivia Van Dyke, a junior studying biology and health humanities, had already bought parts of her costume at the beginning of September. She purchased and has already worn a sparkly pink top from the fast-fashion retailer Pretty Little Thing. 

“Even when I first came back here, one of the first things I was thinking about was Halloween costumes because it’s like such a huge ordeal,” said Van Dyke. 

To find out more about this “huge ordeal,” almost 70 female students completed a survey that covered campus costume consumerism. The majority of these students plan to go out three to four nights during the week of Halloween and buy three to four costumes. 

Students also said that they would not throw their Halloween costumes away. Instead, a majority chose to add the pieces of their costumes back into their closets to be styled and worn again. A smaller number of students said they would wear the costume again next year, and a few said they would gift or sell it. 

By keeping costumes, students are reducing textile waste, which could be a conscious sustainable choice. Are these sustainable choices seen throughout their whole purchase? A majority of the students said they plan to purchase their costumes through Amazon. 

“I’m going to thrift my costume, or I hate to say it, order off Amazon. It’s so fast! Anything I can’t find thrifting I’ll get off Amazon,” said Mia Rosenzweig, a junior studying economics and data analytics. She has planned to go out four nights – “Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.”

Kirsten Schoonmaker, an SU professor who teaches a course about sustainability within the fashion system, touched on the pressure Van Dyke and many other students felt while coming back to campus. The desire to participate in the holiday could cause students to not be completely responsible consumers. 

“I think that there’s a campus culture, there’s a sorority culture, but there are practices that are normative within that culture,” said Schoonmaker. “We are so used to being able to order what we want from Amazon that we don’t even think twice about it.”

Not all of the students surveyed said they were purchasing their costumes from Amazon. Although they were in the minority, some of the students said they would strictly thrift their costumes. Many students also listed other fast-fashion retailers like Shein, White Fox, Princess Polly, or Fashion Nova. Many of these retailers, especially Shein, have been publicly condemned for environmental pollution through fast shipping and a lack of worker’s rights and protections. Schoonmaker called this “the cost of convenience.” 

“You know the costs of throwing out clothing. You know it’s not something you want to be participating in. Let’s re-examine some of the costs upfront that are hidden from you,” said Schoonmaker. 

Students who are interested in purchasing more sustainably could thrift their costumes, but this is only a realistic option for students with cars on campus. What are other ways to avoid the convenience cost?

“I’m thinking about some of the Etsy creators who will take your measurements, will talk to you about a kind of custom costume,” said Schoonmaker. 

Sororities could also hold events where their members make costumes together, or donate items that others could use in their costumes. With Halloween quickly approaching, it may be hard not to be a convenience consumer if you don’t have a costume yet. Keep in mind the hidden cost, and if you want to do more than just reduce waste, start planning your costume for next year.