Late July is when the weather begins to heat up, everyone is officially out for summer break and days are spent basking in the sun. Kids can typically be found at the pool, getting ice cream, or spending their well-deserved break relaxing. During this peak of summer, stores are stocked with pool floats, sunscreen, and beach toys but hidden among this flurry hides pumpkins and fall candles. Mid-summer, why are people being tempted with giant skeletons and Christmas lights?
During this past year, people have become more acutely aware of how much waste they are producing. Brands such as Ridwell are emerging in their efforts to properly dispose of plastic and other waste materials. The production of Halloween and Christmas products starting in mid-July may be another example of our ever-growing need for proper waste management.
When asked how the early sale of Fall and Christmas goods has affected them, Bishop O’Dowd student Judy Baltaxe 26’ comments, “It’s ridiculous I started seeing Christmas lights in Costco by the middle of August. Frankly, it gave me anxiety that summer was coming to a close.” Despite summer being such a savored time it seems big corporations did not get the memo and are more concerned with the cash flow the holidays bring in.
Contrary to Judy’s anxious view of the early sale of holiday goods, others such as Emma Stern ‘26 are taking a more excited approach to these holiday sales. Emma says, “I am a fall girl so seeing Halloween candy in Rite Aid is super exciting.” For someone like Emma who loves fall and the cooler months, this can be seen as a plus. “If I had the money I would be buying all the fall items that are coming out”. For holiday season enthusiasts like Emma, this is an exciting time despite the repercussions of overconsumption. During the holiday season between October to January Americans produce 5 million tons of waste. As this holiday season has begun to encroach on our summertime, how will this extended holiday period begin to increase our amount of holiday waste?
Daisy Kemp ‘26 offers a deeper insight into the appeal of holiday goods and specifically decorations. Daisy loves the holiday season and always looks forward to Christmas. Despite this she states, “The early release of holiday stuff makes the holiday season less special to me.” If a Christmas fanatic can see the nonsense in all of this surely there must be a problem. When asked if Daisy had ever considered the waste the holiday season creates she stated, “ Not really but then again me and my family decorate our tree with passed-down ornaments. Some of ours are even broken.” She stated with a smile.
Many people are proving to be unaware of the amount of waste they create during the holiday season. This can make the issue of waste seem daunting but there are ways people can personally combat this problem.
As Daisy stated, attempting to reuse old holiday items is a good way to prevent large amounts of holiday waste. As for the problem of the release of holiday goods in late July to August, people should be more considerate and critical when they buy and watch out for consumerism traps.
