Textiles and clothing have been identified as having significant environmental impact across their lifecycle. In the UK we consume approximately 2,000,000 tonnes of clothing, and although about 500,000 tonnes are recycled or reused, we still dispose of about 1,000,000 tonnes.

The average lifetime of a garment is 3 years; very often we throw out a piece of clothing not because it’s worn out, but because it’s out of fashion, our clothes size changes or we simply get tired of a garment and buy a new one. Even more often, we buy a lot of clothing on sales, not because we really need a new item, but because it’s on sale. We end up with a lot of unwanted clothing sitting in our wardrobes for years gathering dust and cluttering storage space. While it’s being an unwanted item in your house, this can be worn by somebody who needs it right now!

Did you know that over 70% of the world’s population use second hand clothes? In some countries (of Eastern Europe or Africa for example) new clothes can be simply unaffordable when used clothing from Western Europe provides a big part of the population with good quality inexpensive garments.

While recycling of rugs and worn out textiles is vital, the reuse of wearable textiles is environmentally friendly and, if exported, reused garments re-enter the waste stream or recycling process in other countries much later and after providing the population with affordable clothing and footwear.