Over 800,000 metric tonnes of clothing and shoes were thrown away in the UK in 2006.
Posted by envirostats on Saturday, October 6, 2007
900,000 tons was reported, but it is short tons that is used in Britain, not metric tonnes. The conversion gave 816,000 metric tonnes but since only one significant figure was given, stating “over 800,000 metric tonnes” was the safe way to put this statistic in metric.
An additional statistic of sales of new clothing having increased 60% in the past 10 years was also in the source article. However, no source was attributed so it will only be mentioned here for information, but with note of caution for use. Alternatives to consider might include Stat 0268 that dealt with British women fashion purchasing habits, and for impact, try Stat 0403 and its source, Fashion Sustainability 2007, by Forum for the Future (0.4 MB). [Envirostats author]
The source article was assessing the feasibility of “swishing”, which is essentially a clothes swap with a party attached. Attendees arrive with at least one good-quality item of clothing or an accessory and leave with a new outfit, having successfully recycled their unwanted clothes.
- Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development (TRAID) via The Daily Telegraph, Oct 6 2007
Monday, October 8, 2007 at 10:59 am
[...] Over 800,000 metric tonnes of clothing and shoes were thrown away in the UK in 2006. Shame on us! There are textile collection points in every car park in the land, not to mention a liberal sprinkling of charity shops about the place. And if you’re too lazy to do that, Freecycle a bag of clothes and someone else will come and collect them from you. [...]