UW students aim for $100 Halloween spend

Halloween spending in the United States is projected to reach $13.5 billion this year, with an average per-person cost of $115.14, according to the National Retail Federation. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, students are setting a personal ceiling of $100 to keep their budgets in check while reducing reliance on fast fashion retailers.

The pressure to spend heavily is evident in the social dynamics of the holiday. Senior Hadley Wendorff noted that peer influence often drives elaborate spending. "If your friends have a great costume you wanna have a great costume too," she said. This social expectation can lead students to purchase multiple outfits for a single weekend rather than a single, more expensive costume.

Junior Lily Myhra limits her spending by sourcing items from resale platforms. She estimates her total cost will fall between $50 and $100 by shopping on Depop. This approach allows her to find specific pieces without paying full retail price for new inventory. Many students on campus are adopting similar strategies to stay within their financial limits.

Junior Matteo Rovera observes that yearly trends push students toward multiple purchases. "There's fads for the year," he said. "I would probably only ever wear one Halloween costume a year, but because of what my friends are doing, I have three this year." Despite this tendency, Rovera, like Wendorff and Myhra, intends to keep his total expenditure under the $100 mark.

The push to spend less often comes with an environmental motivation. Fashion production accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions, and 85% of textiles are discarded in dumps annually. Fast fashion brands like Shein, Amazon, and Spirit Halloween offer low-priced, quick-turnaround options that fit this model. Students are increasingly aware that buying a costume for one night of wear contributes to this waste cycle.

To balance cost and sustainability, students are turning to secondhand markets and personal wardrobes. Recommendations include shopping at thrift stores, using apps like Vinted and Facebook Marketplace, or borrowing pieces from friends. Some students are also selecting items that can be reused for daily wear or future events. These methods help lower the financial impact of the holiday while reducing the volume of single-use clothing entering the waste stream.