Social buying, emotional buying and over buying has been our comfort from before and especially during this soul draining pandemic.
I started to know the courier drivers personally as they often brought me pointless, impulsive, internet buys that I would most likely be refunding in a few days.
As brands and shops were struggling to not follow the fate of our beloved Debenhams and Topshop, low prices and sales which offered extra discounts off mass produced items were too hard to resist in our time of boredom, uncertainty and future planning.
But how has this affected our planet?
Apparently, we spend an average of £980.50 pp annually here in the UK according to ethical brand Lab fresh, whose aim is to cut washing machine use, help the environment and the impact of textile waste.
"350,000 tonnes, that’s around £140 millions worth of used but still wearable clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year." - Clothes Aid.
With the UK coming in strong as one of the top 5 largest textile waste producers in Europe, our distant cousin Spain is currently clutching the title of most sustainable.
Please click on the link provided by Lab Fresh to download a version of the table for your own eyes.
A massive percentage of spontaneously bought pieces are being abandoned in landfills or unfortunately being burnt to ash, releasing a terrible amount of toxins from poorly produced fabrics, dyes and chemicals. The smoke from these cremated mountains are putting harmful gasses into the air which is having a detrimental effect on our climate and eco-system.
The apocalyptic and devastating weather conditions that have been happening across the globe in the past few months genuinely look like scenes of a Hollywood blockbuster. These catastrophes are unfortunately the dramatic proof we need to see to understand the damaging changes that are happening to our world.
How can we help?
Well my friends, no need to panic!
There are much more sustainable ways of getting rid of your clothes and it doesn't take much effort either. Our old favourites, charity shops and Recycling centres.
Last week I donated 2 bags of past-time favourites to my local charity shop where hopefully, some creative individual will buy my silver-sequined trousers and make a fabulous cushion out of it!
On that note, high street retailers H&M and Zara have up'd their game by introducing recycling bins into some of their stores. Now you can drop off your pre-loved goods and have them re-worked as instore items in their elegant and planet-friendly collections.
Useful links:
https://youtu.be/nxhCpLzreCw - The True Cost Documentary
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