UK citizens stack an average of 118 items of clothing in their wardrobes, and 31 of these (just over a quarter at 26%) would not have been worn in the past year. Cost is the primary reason why pre-loved, rental, upcycled and repair models are not yet popular.
The key reasons for owning but not wearing items include:
- The item is for occasions only: this is dominant for dresses and frequently cited for skirts, shirts/blouses, formal trousers and coats/jackets.
- The item is no longer a good/comfortable fit: this is often cited for jeans, formal trousers, skirts, shorts, T-shirts/polo shirt/jersey tops, bras and underwear.
- I like the item but it is not a priority: this is cited for knitwear, sweatshirts/ hoodies, T-shirts/polo shirt/jersey tops, jeans, coats/jackets and underwear.
The report: The numbers come from Clothing Longevity and Circular Business Models Receptivity in the UK, published Friday by climate action nonprofit WRAP under the Textiles 2030 project.
- The insights outlined in the report are based upon two largescale pieces of online consumer research commissioned by WRAP in the autumn of 2021: Clothing Longevity and Circular Business Models (CBMs).
The numbers thrown up: The key findings include:
Purchase behaviours and clothing outlooks
- Almost half (45%) of UK citizens purchase clothing at least once a month (with around one in eight (13%) purchasing clothing weekly). Age is a key factor, with over four in five (81%) 18-24s purchasing clothing at least once a month. Clothing purchase frequency also increases with rising household income.
- Around one in four (23%) regularly buy clothing with the intention of using it for a short amount of time, highest among 18-34 men and 35-54 women.
- Just over half (54%) of UK citizens are happy to purchase second hand/vintage, compared to 46% who say they deserve better. Women are more comfortable with second hand than men; and those aged 65+ are least comfortable.
- Close to two in five (39%) say their wardrobes are disorganised and it can be difficult to know what is there, increasing among 18-34s (46%) and those with children (43%).
- Almost three in five UK citizens (59%) go through a lot of effort to maintain their clothes, compared to 41% who do not. A similar proportion (57%) look for ways to repair damaged items. However, there is only a weak overlap between these groups, indicating that maintenance and repair are two discrete behaviours.
Estimating clothing longevity
- Estimated clothing longevity is highest for non-padded coats and jackets (6.3 and 6.1 years, respectively) and lowest for underwear and bras (2.7 and 2.6 years respectively).
- Where direct comparisons are possible with the 2013 research, the results indicate that predicted longevity of clothing items has increased. This is true, for example, of jeans (estimated to be 3.1 years in 2013 and 4.1 years in 2021), dresses (3.8 vs. 4.6 years) and T-shirts/polo shirts/jersey tops (3.3 vs. 4.0 years).
- Items purchased second hand/vintage have a higher estimated longevity than items purchased new (5.4 years compared to 4.0 years).
- There is a strong association between longevity and repair – with the results suggesting that a repair adds 1.3 years to the life of a garment, on average.
- There is no association with gender (with men and women reporting similar estimated longevities across their items) and only a weak relationship with age.
- Longevity is relatively consistent across different brands/retailers.
Items owned and in use
- •Skirts and dresses are the items most likely to be owned but not worn in the past year (44% and 43%, respectively). Utilisation is higher for other items like underwear (12% of those owned were not worn in the past year), socks (17%) and bras (20%).
Wash frequency
- Wash frequency varies considerably across different items of clothing. Padded jackets/coats are – on average – likely to be worn 17 times in between washes, followed by jeans (5.5). Wash frequency is notably higher for skirts/blouses (an average of 2.3 wears in between washes), T-shirts (2.6) and dresses (2.6).
- In addition to the overall average, the range of responses is also notable – with a significant proportion of UK citizens in the survey washing all items after a single wear. 18-34s are consistently more likely to wash items after fewer wears.
