The Dirty little Secret in your Closet

In the UK, we spend an estimated £52.7 billion on clothing every year - mostly on items we never wear or don’t even like. We scoop up fashionable tops and hip skirts in the hopes of looking great and impressing our friends with our bang-on-trend look. The fact is though that the fashion industry wants us to feel out of trend and left behind. This is the way they make us buy and consume more but what is that consumption doing to our environment?

A household in the UK owns, on average, about £4,000 worth of clothing. However only about 30% of that clothing has seen the light of day in the last year. That’s mostly because, that clothing no longer fits in just the right way. It has become tight, unflattering, dated, disgusting and forgotten. It has been shoved far back in the depths of your wardrobe perhaps never to be seen or heard from again. That top you once ‘couldn’t live without’ you have now forgotten ever existed.

This chart shows the carbon, water and waste footprint of clothing in the UK each year:

A major concern in the production of clothing is the amount of water used. 90% of the water footprint of UK clothing is overseas, often in countries which have water stress or scarcity. Most of the water footprint from clothing is taken at the beginning stages in the life cycle of a garment. This is during production stage or ‘fibre, yarn, fabric and garment production.’ The water footprint is dominated by the production of natural fibres such as cotton. This stage also accounts for three quarters of the carbon footprint and a third of the waste.

The average lifespan of a regular item of clothing is roughly 2.2 years. If you extend the life of your clothing for just nine months of ‘active use’ per item it would lead to a 5-10% reduction in each of the categories above. I know it seems that 5% is not a great number but that’s about £5 million in costly resources saved each year.

‘In-Use’ is the second phase of the life cycle of your clothing. Laundry provides one quarter of a UK household’s carbon footprint. The actual volume of water required in washing is equivalent to around 10% of the global footprint. 10,000 tonnes of waste is created at this stage in the cycle. The average African Elephant weights about 6 tonnes, just to give you an idea. This waste occurs when clothing is damaged when it is being cleaned. Let’s face it, it’s happened to all of us. We accidentally washed our woollen jumper on hot and now it’s a size that would only fit at toy poodle.  

Let’s take a look at the end of life location for some of those ‘must have’ items:

31% of our clothing goes straight into the bin and out to landfills. That percentage is about 350,000 tonnes of waste, but it could actually generate £140 million for local authorities, charities and other organizations. Right now the UK only recycles 14% of its clothing even though two-thirds of UK consumers buy or receive pre-owed clothing. That could be a nice little payback in your wallet if you sold a few more items of your clothes a year, rather than shipping them off to the tip. You might even save enough for a sweet little holiday to somewhere warm where less clothes are needed!

So we are now faced with the clear truth; that the textile and clothing industry is the 5th largest contributor to the UK’s carbon footprint. That the water, money, carbon and waste are not always worth it for that in-vogue top of the season. This does not mean we are all going to completely stop buy clothing and start wearing leaves and bark to cover ourselves. That’s not a look I am keen to see for Spring 2017, but, hey, you never know. The key here is to become a more knowledgeable consumer. Here are a few easy tips and tricks on how to help reduce this clothing calamity.

1.     Be a smart shopper. A few high street brands have actually signed up to a campaign called SCAP (Sustainable Clothing Action Plan). WRAP Chief Executive Liz Goodwin said “SCAP is an opportunity for all players in the sector to work together to reduce these impacts, making individual changes for a common good. The launch of the calculator represents an important step forward.” A lot of key brands are already signed up including ASOS, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer and more.

2.     Buy Less. Even though you think you can’t live without try going home and sleeping on it. If you still want the item tomorrow than maybe you really do need it. Think about buying more staples in your wardrobe. These are items that will last a few seasons without looking dated. Capsule clothing is also a great trend to think about on your next shopping spree.

3.     Buy more second hand items. One of the best ways to reduce your footprint is not buying new clothes. Think about buying more vintage and second-hand items to spice up your look.

4.     Wash your clothes less. I know how this sounds, but try not washing your jeans every time you wear them. Washing your clothes less on a cold cycle can help improve your carbon footprint and save your home money. 

5.     Donate your clothing. If you don’t want it, find someone else who will. There are a lot of charities that will even come and pick up your unwanted items straight from your house. All you have to do is ring them up. Content coming soon…