What drives us to add new clothes to our wardrobe, and what makes us let go of them?
To find out, European researcher Irene Maldini studied the wardrobes of 25 people living in different provinces of the Netherlands.
At the start and the end of the study, all participants counted the number of clothing items they owned, excluding socks and underwear.
They also tracked the wardrobe movement in detail: for six months, they documented the reasons why items came into and left their wardrobes.
The research revealed surprising insights:
- a mere 4% of clothing items coming into the wardrobes were purchased or made with the purpose of replacing a disposed item
- of the items that left the wardrobes, less than 24% were actually worn out
This hints that our clothing consumption is not necessarily fueled by our necessities and that we could possibly keep our clothing a bit longer.
By being more conscious of our fashion consumption patterns, we can contribute to a significant reduction in the fashion industry's greenhouse gas emissions.