Earlier this month, we published our new citizen insights report that looks at clothing use and retention in the UK, as well as how open the UK public are to new ways of shopping. The report unveiled that, on average, a quarter of the clothing in UK wardrobes is going unworn.
To shine a light on all the unused items in our wardrobes, we kicked off #UnwornFridays to inspire people to search through their wardrobes on a Friday and put on the pieces that they haven’t worn in the last year.
It’s been great to see so many people unearth the hidden gems in their wardrobes, including ITV’s very own weathercaster, Jo Blythe.
If you’d like to get involved, all you need to do is take a snap of yourself in your unworn items and post it on social media using the hashtag #UnwornFridays - making sure to tag @Textiles2030 and @WRAP if you’re posting through LinkedIn.
If you want to go one step further, why not encourage your residents to get involved too, after all one of the biggest opportunities to reduce the impact of the fashion and textiles industry is by extending the active life of the clothing and materials that already exist.
Of course, not all clothing is destined to be reused by its original owner, however disposing of unwanted clothing is the worst thing we can do, especially with such a thriving pre-loved market in the UK for second hand items.
With the cost of living crisis affecting so many at the moment, it serves us with a timely reminder that where rewearing our clothing is no longer possible, we can also donate our items to charities or redistribution organisations, or resell our items so that other people can make use of them.
Disposing of clothing in the bin should never be an option. Textile banks ensure unusable items are collected for recycling for industrial application.
I hope that you’ll join us by showing your wardrobe some love for #UnwornFridays.
