A bishop’s appeal to supermarket bosses appears to have done the trick and could lead to a significant shift in the way Halloween is marketed in the UK. Some of the country’s leading retailers have responded positively to the bishop’s call and the results of a new survey, published today, show that most people support - or are sympathetic to - his stance.
‘Trick or Treat’ has had a make-over too - with the Church asking the public to go online and donate their Halloween treat to children’s charity the Children’s Society, in a further twist on the increasingly gloomy and scary presentation of the festival.Today’s survey reveals that 36 per cent of people believe that a broader range of brighter products should be made available for parents to buy for their children to mark the occasion, with a further 30 per cent open to the idea.
This echoes the Church’s call for supermarkets to offer more positive products rather than the usual fare of monster masks and costumes based on horror movies.
Almost half (45 per cent) of the parents interviewed feel ‘strongly’ that there should be a choice of alternative Halloween goods for children, while among the youngest people interviewed (aged 18-24) the figure rises to nearly six in ten (58 per cent).
Last year, the Bishop of Bolton, the Rt Revd David Gillett, challenged the retailers to ‘cross-merchandise’ traditional Halloween toys and costumes with goods more suitable for those worried about the darker side of the festival.
At the time, supermarkets gave a mixed response and many parents struggled to find suitable costumes and goods suitable for toddlers. But last week both ASDA and Sainsbury’s confirmed that they are to offer parents a range of less anti-social goods for Halloween.
Writing to the Bishop of Bolton, Sainsbury’s chief executive, Justin King, said: “I appreciate your concerns about the nature of the Halloween products we sell. I can understand your worries that Halloween products may have antisocial effects.
"When looking at what we would sell for this year’s Halloween, we talked to our customers to find out what products they would like to buy.”
He went on to confirm that among the range this year would be glow sticks, hair braids and face paints.
