Waste expert shares his kids 'green' World Book Day costumes

World Book Day means many fancy dress outfits are worn once, thrown away, and end up in landfill. Every year more than seven million costumes get chucked out after being worn once – and 85 per cent of them end up in landfill. Mark Hall, waste experts from BusinessWaste.co.uk offer a few key tips on how parents can save both money and be more sustainable with their kids’ outfits this World Book Day.

• Do a DIY job

If you’ve got any old clothes that no longer get worn, they can be used to manufacture a brand-new outfit for your little one. Consider past Halloween costumes or even old bedding that you could re-purpose into a World Book Day outfit. Cut up an old light blue sheet to create a dress like Alice in Wonderland or get creative with some old towels to make a DIY Gruffalo costume.

Mark even shared his boy's costume, Jensen, age ten. He dressed as Dennis the Menace! His costume was made out of old tape and cardboard. He then borrowed Gnasher the dog from his little sister Ruby along with makeup from Mum.

• Check charity shops

The second-hand world has lots to offer, and you’ll likely find a great costume for a fraction of the price of a brand new one. Pre-loved costumes are a great cost-saving option and a much more eco-friendly one. If you can’t find what you’re after in a charity shop, search online on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, or Gumtree.

• Phone a friend

If any of your friends or family have slightly older kids, they might have a spare outfit they’ve grown out of that your child could wear. It’s only for one day and it’s a great way to be less wasteful. You can always return the favour by offering to lend one of your kids’ costumes for another fancy dress occasion when they’re in need.

• Hire a costume

Hiring costumes is a much more sustainable way to source a World Book Day outfit. You’ll likely find any costume you need and it can be worn once, washed, and returned to be reused. There’s no need to worry about keeping it in storage afterwards or wasting a lot of money on a brand new one that only gets worn once.

• Repurpose last year’s outfit

If your kid hasn’t grown out of the last year’s costume, or even their latest Halloween outfit, reusing them is an affordable and easy option. It may need some small alterations or some new accessories, but the look can be completely refreshed, and no one will notice! For example, a witch’s cape from a Halloween costume could work as a character from Harry Potter or The Highway Rat.

Mark Hall, co-founder of BusinessWaste.co.uk says: “There’s so much waste that goes into children’s clothing as it is, because they grow so quickly out of everything. But it’s even worse when it comes to fancy dress clothing that only gets worn once with most costumes ending up straight in landfill.

“Last year I made my child a costume out of cardboard and paint, and he even won a prize. It goes to show that there are many ways in which people can be more ‘green’ around this day of the year, and hopefully our tips will help them think more sustainably.”