From swimwear made of recycled fishing nets and plastic bottles to secondhand wedding dresses, sustainability is finally becoming a bigger part of the fashion conversation – AG Jeans is one of many brands upping the game in sustainability without compromising on style.
However, it seems that many of us are still holding on to clothes that we could could be passing on to a new owner. According to a survey by Patatam.co.uk, the average woman in the UK has around £500 worth of unwanted items in her wardrobe – enough to fund a solo travel adventure.
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Around one in six women said that they keep old clothes for sentimental reasons: because they remind them of a particular place, person or experience. Others said that they hold onto clothes that don't currently fit them, in the hope that they may do so again.
Encouragingly, more than nine in ten women said they would rather follow Chloe Sevigny's lead and donate unwanted items of clothing to charity, or sell them through eBay or a website like Patatam.co.uk, than add them to the UK's landfill sites. This is definitely good news given that research from Traid has shown that in London alone people throw away 11 million items of clothing every week.
Patatam.co.uk's Managing Director, Eric Gagnaire, said of the survey results: "It’s amazing to see just how much money British women have sat in their wardrobes, in the form of clothing which they no longer want.
"But what is incredible [is] just how much appetite there is to ensure that they are getting rid of these in a responsible way – by selling, donating or passing them on to others who can enjoy them – rather than simply throwing them away. This is great news and shows just how much the tide is shifting. Even Marie Kondo champions this more responsible way of having wardrobe clear outs!"