The conclusion of the Carnival 2026 in Grenada provides a natural window for communities, organisers, and policymakers to evaluate the social, economic sustainability and environmental impact of the festivities to help shape the future celebrations.
Over the past 25 to 30 years, the shift towards minimalist “bikini and beads” costumes have been taking place. However, this remains a primary point of discussion. These costumes are highly profitable for band leaders, easy to pack for international travelers, and drive mass participation.
However, traditional mas bands told complex historical, satirical, or political stories while bikini and beads costumes are purely aesthetic, removing the storytelling element from Carnival Tuesday.
While these costumes have become largely identical across the Caribbean, critics argue that Grenada’s unique cultural identity is being replaced by a copy-paste model heavily influenced by Trinidad Carnival.
Another concern is that the recent trend of more and more public nakedness, lewdness and raunchiness which is associated with and being promoted by the costume designers, where women and girls are being objectified and sexualised in ways that are becoming more and more extreme.
These revealing designs, often referred to as the shift from “traditional mas” to “bikini and beads,” is a subject of significant debate across the Caribbean, including Grenada’s Spicemas.
This shift involves complex intersections of commercialisation, globalisation, and shifting cultural expressions. This move towards more minimalist, revealing costume designs stems from the following factors:-
*carnival has evolved into a major economic driver and global tourist attraction. Designers and band leaders often look toward international trends, market demand, and media appeal to attract younger participants and international travelers, which has popularised lightweight, minimalist aesthetics.
*Trinidad and Tobago’s highly commercialised carnival style heavily influences regional celebrations. The “bikini, beads, and feathers” model has been widely adopted by costume designers across the Caribbean due to its profitability, ease of mass production, and popularity among masqueraders.
*Proponents of modern costume styles often view the choice to wear revealing outfits as an expression of female empowerment, body positivity, and personal freedom. From this perspective, masqueraders claim agency over their bodies, celebrating them openly during the festival.
*The globalisation of music videos, social media platforms, and celebrity culture has normalised highly sexualised imagery. Costume designers frequently incorporate these mainstream entertainment aesthetics into their seasonal themes to remain trendy and relevant to younger generations.
Cultural preservationists argue that the dominance of minimalist costumes erodes the historical and storytelling elements of carnival. Traditional mas characters (such as Jab Jab, Shortknee, and Vieux Corps in Grenada) carry deep historical, political, and rebellious meanings rooted in emancipation.
Critics worry that replacing these narrative-driven costumes with generic, revealing designs commodifies the festival, dilutes its unique local heritage, and strips carnival of its resistance-based origins.
Conversely, some cultural anthropologists and participants argue that culture is not static and must evolve to survive. From this viewpoint, modern carnival is simply a contemporary reflection of society. They believe that as long as traditional mas forms are actively preserved, celebrated, and funded alongside modern bands, the two styles can co-exist within the wider festival ecosystem.
The extreme sexualisation of costumes, particularly when it extends to or influences youth and junior carnival categories, raises ongoing community debates regarding age-appropriateness, public decency standards, and the commercial objectification of women and girls.
Balancing commercial viability and modern expression with the preservation of unique historical traditions remains one of the central challenges for carnival organisers, designers, and cultural ministries across the region.
This trend if not controlled can become part of our present-day culture and is socially detrimental and cause a layered and unforeseen effect on not just our society but our product’s authenticity. We’re not Brazil.
Should we allow our unique, culturally authentic expression to be diluted and disappear into the crazed demands of global commercialisation, and the hidden hand of feminism screaming about “a woman’s right of expression”, or do we jealously guard and protect our traditional forms of the different cultural expressions, with their deep historical and spiritual significance, which by extension is part of our very definition and cultural signature as a nation and people?
These are the choices. There’s no law, or compelling imperative of any kind that says that we must succumb to the demands of global commercialisation and allow our historic cultural signature to dissolve and disappear because it’s the modern trend.
The first step towards correction is establishing standards for costume production.
Another important concern is the environmental and health impacts specifically attributed to the Jab Jab and other masqueraders.
Although this has not been objectively isolated, measured, or quantified in a published scientific study, the general environmental footprint of Grenada’s waste management and plastic consumption has been documented; the claims regarding Jab Jab masqueraders remain qualitative and anecdotal rather than statistically quantified.
Public debates surrounding the Jab Jab tradition typically focus on the modern shift from traditional molasses and charcoal to used motor vehicle engine oil (“ole oil”).
The specific material claims often cited include:
– runoff pollution due to rain during J’ouvert, washing oil from masqueraders’ bodies into drains, which empty directly into coastal marine environments.
– oil transferring onto public buildings, utility poles, and private vehicles along the parade routes.
– the personal health risk of dermal absorption of heavy metals found in used motor oil. The fact is that when environmental impacts of carnival are formally measured by regional agencies or NGOs, researchers evaluate macro-level waste streams rather than the behaviour of individual traditional mas sub-cultures.
Organisations like Common Seas and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have published data showing Grenada generates roughly 4,790 tonnes of plastic waste per year (about 38kg per person), with approximately 9.86% entering the marine environment.
While carnival causes a massive seasonal spike in single-use plastic cups and bottles, the data is collected annually rather than isolated to the two days of street parades.
For a quantified material reference regarding regional carnival costumes, the sustainable carnival initiative Carnicycle calculated that producing and transporting a single standard carnival costume bra generates roughly 37.68kg (83lbs) of CO2 emissions.
However, this study focuses on the “bikini and beads” mas segments and does not calculate the footprint of minimalist traditional characters like Jab Jab.
The Grenada Solid Waste Management Authority (GSWMA) tracks the sheer volume of tonnage brought to the Perseverance Landfill post-Spicemas.
This documents the logistical weight of the festival’s garbage, but it does not differentiate between street waste from spectators, commercial vendors, or specific masquerade bands.
Because the claims lack specific, isolated data, cultural and environmental bodies focus on mitigation and substitution rather than spending resources on quantification. For example, cultural practitioners and local green initiatives have actively promoted the development of eco-friendly black pigments and sustainable charcoal-based oils as alternatives to motor oil to bypass the health and environmental risks altogether.
Most Jab Jabs would bathe directly in the sea to wash off traditional Jab Jab oil. However, this is not environmentally okay, even though it has long been a popular unofficial tradition for many revelers after J’ouvert.
If you jump straight into the sea with fresh oil on, the salt water and sand can mix with the grease. This creates a gritty paste that becomes much harder to scrub off your skin later.
Some Organisers have developed eco-friendly, biodegradable charcoal powders and black pigments. These wash away harmlessly without leaving toxic petroleum residues in the ocean. This is a much better alternative.
A third concern now that carnival is over is whether government should directly sponsor small, unsponsored steelbands. This is a central debate in cultural policy across the Caribbean. Because national budgets are limited, arguments exist both for and against state-funded sponsorship models.
Proponents argue that steelbands are a public good that requires state protection to survive therefore since it is a unique Caribbean invention, then allowing smaller, grassroots bands to fold due to lack of corporate interest permanently erodes the island’s living cultural history.
Also, pan yards function as vital community centers in vulnerable or rural areas. Therefore, State funding keeps these spaces open, providing youth with free music education, mentorship, and a positive alternative to crime.
The Corporate sponsors heavily favour established “mega-bands” that offer maximum brand visibility. Government intervention ensures that smaller communities are not structurally excluded from participating in national events like Panorama.
However, critics and fiscal conservatives suggest that direct, ongoing state sponsorship is unsustainable. National budgets must prioritise essential public services like healthcare, education, and infrastructure.
Directing limited tax revenues to fund private community groups can be seen as misallocated spending. Relying entirely on government funding can make cultural groups vulnerable to political shifts.
Changes in administration can lead to sudden funding cuts, or worse, state funding might be tied to political allegiance.
Permanent state subsidies can reduce a band’s drive to innovate commercially. Critics argue that bands should instead focus on building sustainable business models through year-round paid performances, tourism partnerships, and merchandise.
Rather than direct cash handouts, many cultural experts advocate for strategic frameworks that build long-term independence:
– The government can pass legislation offering tax write-offs to businesses that sponsor small bands. This shifts the financial burden away from the state while incentivising corporate investment in grassroots culture.
Instead of funding operational costs, state funds can be used strictly for capital investments – such as purchasing durable instruments, building permanent pan yards, or training band leaders in financial management and marketing.
The state can hire small bands for official state functions, tourism welcome events, and school programs, ensuring they earn income through active service contracts rather than welfare-style subsidies.
While tourism numbers hit strong peaks, pulling in millions of dollars in hotel revenues, a massive chunk of visitor spending leaves Grenada immediately to cover foreign production costs since Mas bands must pay high upfront costs for imported wire, premium feathers, textiles, and beads.
This raw material import drives up costume production budgets dramatically and large-scale events like the Soca Monarch require specialised audio-visual rigs and stage technologies, much of which must be leased or imported from larger regional hubs at steep freight rates.
Additionally, in order to feed thousands of extra tourists, hotels and restaurants are forced to import premium food and alcohol shipments, reducing the financial return on local agriculture.
The concern is whether Grenada will retain any from Carnival since we are importing costumes, sound systems, DJs, VJs, Cruises, Promoters, etc. Is it possible to fill that void or close that gap going forward? Spicemas continues to grow, but does the end justify the means?
Nevertheless, street food vendors experience a massive income surge during Grenada’s Spicemas Carnival, often generating a significant portion of their annual profits in just a single week.
The explosive influx of thousands of international tourists, returning diaspora, and local revellers creates an insatiable, around-the-clock demand for local food, drinks, and snacks near major parade routes and event venues.
This localised revenue injection directly contrasts with the economic leakage seen in the costume industry, keeping money flowing entirely within the domestic economy.
Finally, using animals (live or dead) in Jab Jab portrayals during Spicemas 2026 is a serious concern.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Forestry and Marine Resources strongly condemned the practice as unethical, illegal under national animal cruelty laws, and offensive to local and international communities.
Loud noises, dense crowds, hot asphalt, and heavy oils can create a dangerous, distressing environment for any live animal. Cultural leaders and stakeholders emphasise that abusing or killing animals is unnecessary for preserving the authentic, historic spirit of Jab Jab.
I want to praise the Royal Grenada Police Service (RGPF) for continuing to deliver what is termed one of the “Safest” Carnivals on Earth.”
Simeon Collins is a former Director of the Grenada Bureau of Standards and first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA), a CARICOM Institution