Halloween costume labels are scarier than any mask

We all have in mind the feeling we get when wearing a store-bought Halloween costume. The mask that has to be taken off and put back on every few minutes to manage to breathe, the ill-fitting bodysuit that flattens the backside, the foam shoe covers that shift with every step, and that slight, discouraging itch that permeates every inch of our body. Although the costumes from specialty stores have evolved compared to when we were kids, with the addition of various Jokers and Harley Quinns, their composition remains unchanged: polyester and other unidentified substances. After all, they are outfits that, like fast fashion, are meant to be worn just once before being thrown away, re-stored in the attic hoping they will be useful next year—which never happens unless it’s the classic witch costume. During the spookiest season of the year, a rather terrifying report comes from the United States: the California Center for Environmental Health has found harmful substances such as lead, cadmium, and BPA in costumes sold by Halloween Express and Spirit Halloween, a problem that, like the upcoming American elections next month, is not just about the fifty stars-and-stripes states.

Having detected levels of harmful substances so high «to require a warning,» the head of the Center for Environmental Health, Mihir Vohra, warns the entire nation just days before the start of October. The problem does not only concern the United States but everyone participating in Halloween celebrations. The elements found in Halloween Express and Spirit Halloween costumes are highly harmful, especially for women and children: contact with lead during growth can damage the nervous system and cause learning disabilities; ingesting cadmium can lead to irreversible intestinal problems, while BPA attacks the endocrine system, responsible for hormonal balance (exposure to BPA can lead to infertility, breast cancer, endometriosis, and polycystic ovary syndrome). As fast fashion chains, costumes found on sites like Shein, Temu, and Amazon pose the same risks, as in recent years clothing made with harmful materials has been found for sale on all three platforms. This Halloween, before buying the first cheap packaged costume you find online, ask yourself if you can recreate the same thing with second-hand clothes or, even better, with what you have at home. Besides, no one has ever won the “best costume of the party” award wearing a prefab look.