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US President Donald Trump's tariffs are threatening to affect every corner of society, either directly or indirectly, and the people who make Halloween costumes are sounding the alarm for their products six months early.As we all experience a range of emotions similar to the characters in Pixar's Inside Out (which were some of the most popular Halloween costumes of 2024), in 2025, we may need to DIY our Emotions costumes for Halloween.

Halloween... cancelled? Robert Berman, who has been in the costume industry since 1992, says in a press release that "If these tariffs go through as planned, Halloween 2025 could be the one that never happened — and Christmas might not be far behind.”

Berman is the CEO of the costume company Rasta Impasta, as well as a board member of the industry trade organization Halloween & Costume Association, which counts his Rasta Impasta, as well as other major Halloween costume suppliers Jazwares, Rubies, and Disguise Costumes - all HCA members.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, consumers spent an estimated $4.1 billion on Halloween costumes in 2024 alone, and 49% of U.S. citizens planned to dress in costume for the annual event last year ,says the National Retail Federation.

Over 700 Party City stores closed in late 2024 - and now this

This comes after a rough 2024 for Halloween and costume buyers (and suppliers), as the United States' largest year-round costume store chain, Party City went into bankruptcy, which led to the closure of roughly 700 of its U.S.-based stores. In late 2024, Licensing International polled suppliers who said that they expect Spirit Halloween, Target, Walmart, and smaller specialty stores to attempt to fill the void left in the market. 

According to Licensing International, pre-Party City bankruptcy, roughly 70% of costume sales are through brick-and-mortar retailers. Additionally, 60% of all children's costumes were of licensed IPs rather than generic designs, while in adult costumes, it's 60% generic costumes to 40% licensed IP.

2025 Halloween costumes are already being made (and orders are already being canceled)

According to the HCA, 2025 Halloween costume production is "already underway" with international manufacturing facilities and "orders are locked in," leaving their members "scrambling to find ways to get products into stores on time and at prices that families can afford." The HCA says some unnamed retailers are "canceling orders and cutting volumes - even on products specifically designed for their shelves."

"It’s brutal,” says Berman. “These are goods that are weeks from shipping, not months. And because Halloween is a one-night event, if you miss that window, there’s no way to recover.”

The HCA said that with the current tariffs, 2025 Halloween costumes (and all costumes they make) will be marked up double in price (or more) by its members to pay for the increased prices the tariffs will cause in their supply chains. 

Can't Halloween costumes be made in the United States?

HCA board member Robert Berman says the costume industry has been working on reducing its "reliance on China for a while now... but these are complex supply chains built over decades."

Berman says that relocating costume manufacturing facilities out of China is going to take "years, not months."

The Halloween Costume Association says its members want the U.S. government to revise the tariffs to take into account the "seasonal nature" of the costume business, and to revise them and have a more "practical path forward."

“This is an existential moment for our industry," says Berman. "Halloween isn’t like other holidays. If products don’t land on time or become too expensive for families, Halloween simply doesn’t happen. There is no backup plan."

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