‘Make your own’ plan is attacked by shops
Thursday 28th October 2010, 2:30PM BST.
Fancy That manageress Jo Francis, left, with Tiffany De La Mare who is pictured with daughter Lily, 3. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 1044371)
SHOPOWNERS have attacked the States for advising islanders to make their own Halloween costumes and decorations – saying it could help to put them out of business.
In a statement the States’ recycling officer Tina Norman-Ross offers a list of recommendations including: ‘Make your own spooky costume,’ and ‘Make your own decorations such as papier mache spiders and bats made of old newspapers, magazines and cardboard’.
Jo Francis, manageress of Fancy That at Trinity Square, sells and hires out costumes and merchandise. She said, ‘If they are going to advertise like that, they are going to put people out of business.’
Public Services Deputy Minister Scott Ogier said the purpose of the story was to encourage people to think about the waste they produce, but it was up to individual islanders to make their own choice. ‘We did not say that people should not buy or rent costumes.’ .
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I can understand the shop being upset as they are in the business for costumes, but when I was young and then my kids, half the fun was making your own costume, so again not really headline news is it.
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Good to see the press getting the breaking news to the front page in short order, another plus for GP, Keep it up.
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what next? complaining about Blue Peter?
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when you make your costume etc is it any good to recycle after or will it just go in the bin
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Nice bit of free advertising I think, Im with Caroline on this, Ive always made ( badly admitted )our own costumes for whatever occassion so this is hardly news
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Cannot believe this is all Guernsey has to report on, to make front page news is unbelievable.
It is a total rubbish story, if someone cannot say it is a good idea to make your own costumes without someone making a fuss, well as my old gran would have said, “what is the world coming too”.
If the manageress of Fancy That is bothered by that, she should see the fancy dress costumes come into Guernsey bought on the internet, now that is something to worry about.
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I wonder if it’s occurred to anyone else that not that long ago Hallowe’en was a minor thing in British culture (from which Guernsey takes its lead) – now it’s suddenly a multi-million pound business.
I wonder why? It couldn’t be the influence of American culture, which in turn is driven by the marketing departments of children’s retailers trying to squeeze yet more money out of parents, could it?
Well, I’m not falling for it. Hallowe’en will be well and truly ignored this year, as it was last year and will be again next year!
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Surely the point of this story is that the States has got staff pumping out a press release advising people to make pumpkin soup at halloween instead of throwing the shell away, into landfill! Then the costumes business is the second opportunity for us to “do our bit for the environment”.
What next? Make your own fireworks with recycled material? A Christmas message from Dep Ogier asking us to eat all our sprouts to save Mont Cuet from filling too quickly?
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Tina Norman-Ross would have been failing in her duty as recycling officer if she hadn’t urged islanders to make their own costumes rather than buy overpriced plastic (made in China) Halloween tat.
I appreciate that the stuff hired from fancy dress shops can be used again but what’s going to happen to all the crappy, mass produced witch hats and non biodegradable plastic devil tridents being sold in many island shops?
Answer: it’ll all end up in landfill.
If anything there should be a ban on the import of all this rubbish into the island. Besides, it’s so much more fun and more creative – not to mention much cheaper – to make your own.
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I’m in my late 40s and still go out trick or treating.
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Martino – well said.
PLP – well said too.
Dave – you need to urgently see your GP.
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Can I go and see Dave’s Giant Pumpkin?
I made my own pumpkin this year by drawing a scary face on an orange balloon I bought from that shop. By shining a torch behind it (bought especially) the effect is complete. If it bursts I just do another one, the balloons really are good value and it only takes about a minute.
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You really should check out the article by Futu about this:
http://www.gsyfutu.com/?p=12084
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Great site Prev.
Let me know if you need any more contributors. Is there anywhere I can send an idea?
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Sadly it’s not my site, neither do I know who runs it. I only wish I were that witty (and had that much time on my hands!)
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The reason the shop is complaining is that they sell a lot of PLASTIC rubbish and someone has suggested that the stupid people who go along with all this Halloween crap make their own costumes at vastly cheaper cost and recycle rubbish. It would be better if all the stupid people just kept their children safe inside and taught them the more civil side of life.
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Marks and Spencer are always in the GP complaining when they publish a recipe for lasagne…that means no one will buy their ready made ones and they’ll go out of business!
Ditto Creasey’s, god forbid anyone should try to make their own clothes. Buy everything from a shop otherwise the economy will fail, instantly!
*rolls eyes*
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I wanted to comment on this piece, but alas, I am in the middle of a huge ‘lost sock’ drama, and fear that if I can’t find it, I shall HAVE to call the Press and tell them……….
hold that front page-!!!
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I always paint my wellies silver at this time of year the kids dont trouble me for sweets, they think i am Gary Glitter and leg it.
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What? Not buying rubbish masks and costumes for an “event” that lasts a couple of hours once a year could lead to shops going out of business? That’s a bit rich – must be charging too much then. It’s all got out of hand anyway – I’ll bet most of the kids doing the rounds on the 31st haven’t got a clue what the evening’s about anyway.
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Roy Gueno
Good one
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Haven’t the greedy retailers who oppose DIY realised that there could not be a more fitting time to save money in the present economic climate?
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I agree with your post Martino. One would hope that the small matter of Mont Cuet filling up has not gone unnoticed by anyone in Guernsey by now, and consequently, there is an urgent need for everyone to reduce the amount of waste heading that way. The first place to start is to not buy stuff that is going to end up in the tip. If we all did that, shopkeepers would soon realise that they should not be stocking stuff that is not compatible with our recycling streams.
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Further to my last posting it was interesting (and sad) to see a pile of unsold plastic Halloween tat at the Co-Op on the Bridge yesterday. Very disappointed in the Co-Op, why on earth are they getting involved in this wasteful trade? Hardly part of their core food and grocery business. More landfill anyone?
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What’s the next big story….. Petrol Stations complaining that Environment wants the public to use there cars less frequently and take a bus!!!
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Devils_ Advocat.
Sadly…. that seems to be a story that is not likely to happen with our present Enviro Dept. who appear firmly stuck in the 20C.
I agree that this is not much of a story….. except that despite us all knowing about our rapidly filling tip, it is extraordinary how many people still do not consider that solving the problem starts with us all reducing the amount of waste we generate when we are buying it.
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Martino
Our tip is not being filled up by Halloween Costumes; it’s being filled by wood, skip waste, commercial and green waste.
There is good news out there, Guernsey is supporting recycling.
A quiet dignified ground swell of Guernsey people embracing recycling initiatives; so why not build on that rather than side swiping a bit of winter fun?
Halloween is not your battle ground and environmental absolutism just loses people.
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You’ll see, Neil, that I said nothing against people enjoying their Halloween celebrations, just the imported rubbish associated with Halloween that DOES in its own small way add to the landfill problem.
In one of my earlier postings I said “… it’s so much more fun and more creative – not to mention much cheaper – to make your own.” That hardly makes me a killjoy.
Remember too how this story started – with shopkeepers taking more than just a side swipe at the recycling officer for doing her job by giving a similar piece of advice.
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