Millions of Southern Californians dress up every year for Halloween, usually with a cheap costume that only gets worn once. The lifespan of those outfits quickly end in the trash, creating a landfill horror story.

That’s where Heal the Bay ’s Halloween Donation Drive comes in. The aquarium run by the nonprofit in Santa Monica is accepting gently used costumes and giving them away for free around the holiday.

The drive will run through Nov. 7.

Why the drive is happening

Across the nation, 35 million costumes get trashed every year, according to the Zilkha Center for the Environment at Williams College in Massachusetts. And experts say these mostly single-use outfits can actually end up hurting our health and the environment.

Lexy Silverstein, a sustainable fashion advocate who’

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