Marijuana leaves, cigarette butts, Ebola hazmat suits and sexy police women are just a few of the Halloween costumes that are available for young children this fall season.
But some stores are pulling the controversial costumes off the shelves in response to concerns aired by parents who find the Halloween outfits inappropriate for their young children.
Johnathon Weeks, the owner of Brandsonsale, a California-based company that has sold a few of the controversial costumes, told CBS that they know the costumes are not popular with everyone, but it is because of their abnormal costume designs that they make millions each year.
The Huffington Post featured a blog by Karyn Pickles who said her child's local elementary school has agreed that any kind of Halloween costumes will not be tolerated while school is in session. One of the school's seven reasons for the costume implementation is there is an "increase in the need to monitor and address appropriate dress and socially acceptable costumes."
When Pickles told her little boy, Ben, that he could not wear his costume he replied, "Why would a costume not be appropriate? What does that even mean?"
In reference to the cigarette costume, CBS quoted Cynthia Moreno, a consumer, who said, “I would not want my grandkids in that."
"It did take some effort to find something that I didn't feel was sort of sexy witch," said Emma Waverman, an author and mother, as quoted by CTV News.
Another mother and consumer, Raina Delisle, told The Province when looking for a firefighter costume for her 4-year-old, "This hyper-sexualization is much more than just the costume. It conveys a message to girls that their body is more important than their brain, and leads to the objectification of women.”
Some stores have responded to parental concerns.
On Oct. 20, the Value Village store, known as Savers in the U.S., announced that it was going to pull certain Halloween costumes from it U.S. and Canadian stores, according to The Province.
"We’ve taken the recent comments surrounding certain Halloween costumes sold in our stores very seriously, and as such, are removing this merchandise from our sales floors," Sara Gaugl, the store communication director, said. "We apologize to those who were offended, and as we move forward, we will evaluate all costumes and packaging keeping this specific customer feedback in mind."
Email: kclark@deseretnews.com