Fashion is ever changing; so it’s no surprise that women in the UK don’t get round to wearing all of the clothes in their wardrobe each year. Research has suggested that UK women only actually ever wear 70% of the clothes in their wardrobe.
This may sound like a reasonable figure; however on average the contents of a woman’s wardrobe is worth £4000. That means that each woman in the UK is sitting on £1200 worth of unworn, unused clothes.
The reason for this can largely be attributed to the fact that our fashion trends can dramatically change week by week. With the landscape constantly changing it’s possible to buy something in January for it to be completely out of fashion by February.
Social Media’s Influence
Going back a few years it was possible to be a local trendsetter. Each and every woman had the power to influence the trends of people around them by being brave and trying something new.
Nowadays, thanks to the introduction of social media trends can now be set globally by a simple click of a button. We’re only ever a Kylie Jenner Instagram post away from a whole new fad being created.
As well as providing a platform for lightening quick trend switches, the connected world we now live in creates a lot of competition when it comes to fashion. There’s that somebody taking pictures of you and uploading them online; this naturally means women are more conscious about their image. It’s not now just the people in your presence who can see you, its people all over the world.
On top of impacting fashion the modern era has also seen an increase in body consciousness, with things such as weight management now an integral part of the way we think. This is evident by the fact that non-invasive body sculpting procedures are now an accepted part of our society.
Where do unwanted clothes go?
The below infographic created by bedroom and wardrobe storage system experts Storage Maker highlights the amount of waste when it comes to women’s clothing in the UK. On top of this it also identifies what happens to these unwanted clothes once we’ve had a enough of seeing them in our wardrobe.
Heart-warmingly a huge amount of clothes that leave our overcrowded, underutilised wardrobes is donated to charity. 70% of these clothes that are donated to charity are resold in shops or sent to communities overseas. Many of these communities actually rely on donated clothing.
The coat hanger system
When it comes to clearing out unneeded or unwanted clothing, deciding what you actually want to get rid of can be a tough job. This is where the coat hanger system can help:
– Place all coat hangers in the wardrobe to face left
– Items you wear and wash hang with the coat hanger facing right
– After 6 months check how many items you have and haven’t worn in your wardrobe
Voila, you now know which clothes you do, and don’t wear.