7 Tips to Minimize Your Exposure to Toxics This Halloween
Your Costume Should be Scary, But Not That Scary
Have you heard that the Center for Environmental Health found lead, cadmium, and BPA in costumes from Halloween Express and Spirit Halloween?
No level of lead is safe for children. Exposure to lead can result in irreversible nervous system damage and intellectual disabilities for life, yet we found lead in Halloween masks. BPA is often found in polyester spandex blends from fast fashion brands even though it can disrupt metabolism, growth, development, and reproductive health. Cheap metal jewelry can contain cadmium, even though cadmium exposure has been found to cause kidney, bone, and lung damage.
Teach Kids to Avoid
- mouth contact with vinyl masks, cheap metal jewelry, costumes made with PVC plastic, and store-bought face paint
- wearing the costume any longer than necessary after getting home from trick or treating
- eating Halloween treats without washing your hands first
Most Halloween costume companies are simply fast fashion brands that don’t have an incentive to do better under our nation’s lax chemical safety laws, but there are steps we can take to protect our health. Toxic chemicals like BPA, lead, and cadmium have no business in kids’ costumes, but try these seven tips to minimize your family’s exposure to toxics this Halloween.
Seven Tips to Have a Happy, Healthy Halloween
- Get creative! A store-bought costume isn’t going to win any prizes. Create your own costume from clothes you can find at thrift stores, from friends’ closets, and even your existing wardrobe. Here are 70 costume ideas made from real clothes you can repurpose after Halloween. When in doubt, choose costumes made from non-synthetic materials.
- Choose retailers with transparency policies based on comprehensive chemical management systems.
- Kids love to create their own costumes. Make your own masks from paper mâché or felt.
- Instead of buying cheap metal jewelry with cadmium, make your own from wooden beads and twine.
- Make your own face paint out of non-toxic moisturizer, cornstarch, and natural coloring.
- A little cardboard can go a long way to turning your little one into a fairy, a taco, or even a Lego!
- Organize a costume swap with friends to give your costumes from past Halloweens a second life.