Posted by Louise Bowe, WRAP
WRAP is the UK specialist on waste matters. We advise and work with all four UK governments, local councils, a wide range of businesses and the general public. For us it’s all about changes we can all make to waste less and recycle more at home or at work – using the earth’s resources as well as we can and saving money for everybody in the process.
We work with a range of businesses to reduce the energy and materials in everything from house-building and DIY goods to baked beans, beer, TVs and jeans! We work with councils and recycling businesses across the UK to help them collect high quality materials for recycling and re-use from the public and businesses. Helping them realise the true financial value from things we no longer need and making sure those precious materials are used again and don’t end up in a landfill site.
The way we buy and wear clothes has a major social and financial impact on our lives. The average household spends around £1,700 a year on buying clothes, second only to food and drink in terms of spending on consumable goods.
This makes clothing a really important area to tackle, and the ‘Valuing our clothes’ report provides the first “big picture” overview of the issue. It covers opportunities and potential savings for both businesses and consumers. There are actions we can all take to get more “value” from the resources used in supplying, using and disposing of clothes.
The report includes some truly incredible information and statistics. For instance, we have around a staggering £30 billion worth of clothes which we haven’t worn for a year hanging in our wardrobes! That’s over £1,000-worth of clothes for the average household, which is great for the moths, but little else!
A great stat I think readers would agree, but when we take a moment and actually think back to our own wardrobes at home, it is easy to begin to see how the figures stack up.
Believe it or not, nearly half of us at least put some clothes in the bin. Our research showed that people say they do this because they don’t think it could be used again for any other purpose, yet this is far from the truth. In fact, clothes that we throw away are worth around £140 million!
One option is to sell our clothes on websites such as Preloved - a chance to make a bit of money from them. Another option is to give the clothes to friends and family - why not de-clutter whilst getting a few brownie points in the process? Clothes can also be given to charity shops, allowing them to make money for good causes.
Remember, even if clothes are no longer good enough quality for someone else to use as they are, poor quality clothes and textiles may still be recycled into new materials or used as rags, so take any unwanted materials to your nearest textiles bank. Yes – even those scruffy old T shirts or bobbled jumpers can have a use! Search for your local textiles recycling banks or service using the postcode locator at www.recyclenow.com.
Whatever option is taken, it is a win-win for all involved and it’s very easy to do.
If these suggestions are not enough of an incentive to reduce the weighty wardrobe then consider the environmental impacts of the clothes left hanging at home. When we think about products that are resource intensive, clothing is not one that immediately springs to mind. Yet the reality is the estimated annual footprints of a household’s new and existing clothing are equivalent to:
By extending the active life we get from our clothes by just nine months, we could reduce our water, carbon and waste impacts by between 20%-30%, so well worth doing. There are simple ways we could do that, including wearing our summer clothes in the winter. For example, try wearing a summer dress with tights boots and a cardy or wearing a jumper over a short sleeved shirt.
Two-thirds of us have bought or received pre-owned clothing in the last year, showing a real willingness to do so. So yes, there is a real appetite for pre-owned clothes - we should all make the best use of them starting from today!
For more information on the ‘Valuing our clothes’ report please visit www.wrap.org.uk/clothing.
If you added it up how much do you think the clothes in your wardrobe that you haven't worn for a year are worth?
Alison
13 September 2012 at 4:37 AM
Well I love buying Preloved clothes from various outlets mainly charity shops - I'm often wearing totally second hand clothing except for my underwear. I love routing and finding beautiful clothes at a good price. I let others pay the full price! The when I'm done with them I take back to the charity shops or place in the recycle bin at my local centre.
MrsH
16 September 2012 at 8:38 PM
I have saved so many clothes, which i am in the process of listing; some i purchased and never got chance to return; others were worn (very little) and some a bit more wear; but lots of life left in them. I am keen to sell at very reasonable prices to others . I really feel that a second chance for lovely clothes is worth doing.
Liz
22 September 2012 at 6:58 AM
If I just added up the value of the bags of clothes in the loft that used to fit me before I had my son I'd be so much better off! Really should sell them, has to be better for the bank balance, better for the environment and better for my self esteem, let's face it, those size 10 days are long gone! :-)
funkysallyann
14 October 2012 at 9:23 AM
I ALWAYS BUY ALL MY CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR FROM CHARITY SHOPS THE ONLY ITEMS I BUY BRAND NEW IS UNDERWEAR, I COULD NOT AFFORD TO BUY THE NAMED CLOTHES BRAND NEW THAT I CAN BUY FROM CHARITY SHOPS, AND EVERYONE ALWAYS SAYS I DRESS WELL. MY SON IS GROWING SO FAST AND SO CANNOT SEE THE POINT OF BUYING BRAND NEW CLOTHES THAT HE WIILL WEAR TWICE BEFORE THEY NO LONGER FIT . CHARITY SHOPS AND SECOND HAND SHOPS ARE GREAT , MY SON ALWAYS WEARS TOP NOTCH NAMED CLOTHES AS WELL , AND HE ALWAYS LOOKS GOOD . ALL FROM SECOND HAND CLOTHES SITES AND CHARITY SHOPS . VERY GOOD VALUE FOR MONEY .
Tigeress1
18 November 2012 at 9:59 PM
Well just had chat with my son about this... We haven't spent £1700 this year on clothes!! Not everybody spends every year on clothes... Have oher things to spend money on.... But prob right about clothes sitting in wardrobe....
love saves the day
22 December 2012 at 4:19 PM
two clothes rails full of vintage clothes that perhaps one day will be bunting or fodder for beautifully crafted embellishments.
As Head of Community Partnerships at WRAP, Louise Bowe manages the waste specliast's work with a range of organisations to help ensure consumers know and understand the benefits of reducing waste and recycling more.
Read the Preloved blog and join us in our love for some of the older things in life.
