Brits wreck £2.7 billion worth of clothes every year – thanks to spills and washing mishaps, a new study has revealed. Researchers found that food and drink stains, rips and even washing them too much or on the wrong setting means millions have ended up binning some of their favorite clothes.
Almost nine in ten adults ruin and then throw away four items a year, worth an average of £62.68 in total.
That means clothes worth more than £2.7 billion end up in the nation’s rubbish every year.
Half of those polled even said they avoid wearing certain items because they are worried they will end up ruined, and almost one in ten admitted there are clothes they have NEVER worn because they won’t want to wreck them.
A spokesman for Lenor, which commissioned the research to mark the launch of its Forever Fashion Campaign, said:
“It’s inevitable that a few items of clothing are going to get ruined or damaged here and there, but when you add it all up, it really is quite staggering.
”And it’s not just the financial cost of wrecked clothes which is the problem.
”Ruining any item of clothing is a pain, but when it’s your favorite item, or something which has sentimental value or was expensive to buy, it can be heart-breaking.
”It seems some are so concerned that their best clothes are going to end up ruined they even avoid wearing things unless it’s for a special occasion.
”Clothes are meant to be worn and no-one likes to leave their favorite items hiding in the wardrobe, even if there is a risk it might not look like new afterwards.”
The study, of 2,000 Brits, found that food and drink stains are the mostly likely cause of ruined clothes, followed by ripping it or putting a coloured item in the wash with a load of whites.
Washing clothes on the wrong setting, tumble-drying something so it shrinks and even washing it too often also lead to clothes ending up in the bin.
It also emerged that 48% of people avoid wearing certain items of clothing because they don’t want to risk ruining them.
And 35% of people don’t wear their favorite items as often as they want, as they don’t want to ruin them by washing them too much.
A worried 42% even avoid regularly washing clothes they have worn, with one in four admitting to having clothes they have NEVER washed so they don’t risk wrecking them.
Another one in three leave their favorite clothes, or ones that have unusual washing instructions, for their partner or mom to wash so they aren’t the one to ruin it.
But it’s not just our own clothes that we ruin, with more than a quarter admitting to damaging something which didn’t even belong to them.
Six in ten of those have then had to fork out for a replacement, while another 63% have even fallen out with a friend over it.
