Here's a scary fact - throwaway Halloween costumes can annually generate the equivalent of 83m plastic bottles worth of plastic waste.
While it's definitely the right time of year to bring in some scares, that doesn't mean that our festivities need to have a scary impact on waste and our environment.
With this year's Climate Change Conference, COP26, also beginning on Halloween this year, it's safe to assume that many of us will be thinking of the ways we can have a more sustainable - yet still spooky - party,
So, before you head out to your local fancy dress costume for your littles ones Halloween costume, leading packaging provider, DS Smith, have created a sustainable solution for this spooky season.
With a little imagination, DS Smith has revealed how to guides on how you can use some second hand boxes you have in your home to create some spectacular DIY costumes.
The DS Smith Cardstumes Halloween Guide provides you with all the tips needed to build your very own card costumes - or 'cardstumes' - including a robot, a sea monster and a spider.
The how to guides are fairly easy to follow, as they are broken down into different steps you can follow to make sure you make the most spooky costume for this year's Halloween.
Even better, everything you need will most likely be found in your house - so good for the environment and your bank balance.
The ‘cardstumes’ provide a fun, crafty activity for children as they get ready for a night of Trick of Treating , but as they are made from cardboard and are recyclable, they also reduce the waste that is usually generated by Halloween.
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.
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.”
You can download DS Smith's Halloween 'Cardstumes' guide here.
Party goers are also encouraged to share their cardboard creations with the packaging provider on social media using the hashtags #cardstumes #cardboardcrafts.
So, get the camera out and Instagram ready!
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond. Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
