Wednesday 13-02-2019 - 15:15

It’s Saturday night: Chloe, a second year Chemistry student, is prepping for a night out with her mates. That afternoon she bought a new dress from a generic high street store (something similar to M&H or Pond Land). She’s very pleased with herself – the dress was a bargain, it makes her bum look great, and she’s got that sparkly new outfit feeling.

Sunday Morning, and the blow of the hangover is softened slightly by looking at photos from the night before – racking up the likes and comments – that dress saw a successful debut. Yet, instead of wearing the dress at the next possible moment, it is hung on a rack and shoved into a coffin masquerading as a wardrobe. 

This tale is not unique to ‘Chloe’, you probably have a story of your own. You’ll have dresses and outfits that shared the same fate, as on average, women wear a piece of clothing only 7 times before throwing it away. 

Buying a new outfit for every upcoming event or night out isn’t great for your bank account, but did you know it’s also not great for the world? 

Last year in the UK, 235 million items of clothing were taken to the dump, which weighs approximately 106,000,000 kgs. The Titanic weighed 52,000,000 kgs. We threw away two Titanic’s worth of clothes. What even?!

Half of our wardrobes will be garments made from cotton — which uses more water than any other fibre. The amount of water you will drink in 5-6 years is the same amount of water needed to produce one pair of jeans. 

So what can you do to help? 

Donate your old clothes — don’t bin them — bag them up and donate them to a charity shop, or even earn yourself some extra money selling them online.

Clothes Swaps — organise a day with your friends to bring all your unwanted clothes and see if anything they have could be your new favourite. 

Repair that crotch hole – jeans ripping at the crotch? Same, but they’re actually really easy to repair. Pick up a needle and thread and save yourself £40. Use this tutorial to help you. 

Try to buy responsibly – sometimes you need a treat or a new top, so research shops that are trying to be more eco-friendly. Plus, you can purchase second hand items online or at charity shops – chances are they’ve only been worn once (seeing as most of us are guilty of it).