A new report reveals that extending the active life of clothes by just nine months can reduce reduce the water, carbon and waste impacts by up to 20-30%. Plus it would save UK consumers £5 billion.
The report has been produced by WRAP, the UK’s leading body on resource efficiency. It estimates that there’s around 1.7 billion items of unworn clothes lingering in our wardrobes, with a value of £30 billion.
Other key findings include:
- The average UK household owns around £4,000 worth of clothes.
- Around 30 percent of clothing in wardrobes has not been worn for at least a year.
- An estimated £140 million worth of used clothing goes to landfill every year.
- On average, the global water footprint of a UK household’s clothing exceeds 200,000 litres a year – enough to fill over 1,000 bathtubs to capacity.
On a brighter note, the report also revealed a healthy interest from consumers in re-using preloved clothing. Over two thirds said they’d be willing to buy and wear 2nd hand clothing.