Review of clothing disposal reasons

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 19. oktober 2022

Authors: Kirsi Laitala and Ingun Grimstad Klepp, SIFO

Abstract

Garment lifetimes and longer serviceable life play important roles in discussions about the sustainability of clothing consumption.

A compilation of the research on clothing disposal motivations shows that there are three main reasons for disposal:

  1. Intrinsic quality (37%): Wear and tear-related issues such as shrinkage, tears and holes, fading of colour, broken zippers and loss of technical functions such as waterproofness.
  2. Fit (28%): Garments that do not fit either because the user has changed size, or the garment did not fit well to start with (for example due to unsuitable grading, insufficient wear ease or wrong size).
  3. Perceived value (35%): reasons where the consumer no longer wants the garment because it is outdated or out of fashion, or no longer is needed or wanted, or is not valued, for example when there is a lack of space in the wardrobe.

This shows that almost two-thirds of garments are discarded for reasons other than physical durability. Poor fit/design together with lack of perceived value by the owner are responsible for the majority of clothing disposals.

Physical strength is one of the several factors that are important if the lifetime of clothing is to be increased. However, it does not help to make clothes stronger if they are not going to be used longer anyway; this will just contribute to increased environmental impacts from the production and disposal phases. We do not need disposable products» that last for centuries. To work with reducing the environmental impacts of clothing consumption, it is important to optimize the match between strength, value and fit. This has the potential to reduce overproduction. Optimizing clothing lifespans will ensure the best possible utilization of the materials in line with the intentions of the circular economy.

Introduction

Garment lifetimes and longer serviceable life play important roles in discussions about the sustainability of clothing consumption.

Here we present the empirical findings summarized from the research that exists around clothing disposal. The review was originally conducted for the work with the development of durability criteria for Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) for apparel and footwear. We believe this can be useful information for companies working to improve their products, and debate about clothing sustainability including the understanding of PEF.

We would like to thank Roy Kettlewell and Angus Ireland for their cooperation.

Method

The review includes empirical quantitative studies on clothing disposal reasons. The studies use varying methods, where online surveys are the most commonly used, but also two physical wardrobe studies are included. The way disposal reasons are studied varies as well. Many surveys ask for general, most common disposal reasons, while wardrobe studies and a few of the surveys focus on specific garments that the informants have disposed of. One of the online wardrobe surveys also asks for anticipated disposal reasons for specific garments instead of past behavior. All of the studies have been conducted between 1987 and 2020. The review excluded any studies that did not focus on disposal reasons or did not report results in a quantitative manner. In addition, it excludes a few lower-quality studies with methodological issues. In total 17 studies that fulfil the inclusion criteria were found.

Results

The review shows that clothing is discarded for many reasons. Table 1 summarizes the results and gives some information about the study sample such as where it was conducted and the number of respondents, as well as the main method that was used. Although there are differences between the surveys, they show a common feature. The results on disposal reasons could be placed in three main categories that were found in all reviewed studies: 1) intrinsic quality, 2) fit, and 3) perceived value, and an additional category for 4) other or unknown reasons. The categories include the following disposal reasons:

  1. Intrinsic quality: Wear and tear-related issues such as shrinkage, tears and holes, fading of colour, broken zippers and loss of technical functions such as waterproofness.
  2. Fit: Garments that do not fit either because the user has changed size, or the garment did not fit well to start with (for example due to unsuitable grading, insufficient wear ease or wrong size).
  3. Perceived value: reasons where the consumer no longer wants the garment because it is outdated or out of fashion, or no longer is needed or wanted, or is not valued, for example when there is a lack of space in the wardrobe.

StudyResearch design and sample sizeIntrinsic qualityFitPerceived valueOther / unknown
AC Nielsen (Laitala & Klepp, 2020)Survey in five countries, 1111 adults aged 18-64, anticipated disposal reason of 40,356 garments4413359
WRAP (2017)Survey in the UK, 2058 adults, 16,895 garments, disposal reasons per clothing category past year1842337
Laitala, Boks, and Klepp (2015)Wardrobe study in Norway, 25 adults (9 men and 16 women), 396 discarded garments50162410
Klepp (2001)Wardrobe study in Norway, 24 women aged 34- 46. 329 discarded garments31153321
Collett, Cluver, and Chen (2013)Interviews in the USA, 13 female students (aged 18 – 28). Each participant brought five fast fashion items that they no longer wear413821–
Chun (1987)Survey in the USA, 89 female students (aged 18 – 30). Most recent garment disposal reason.629569
Lang, Armstrong, and Brannon (2013)Survey in the USA, 555 adults. General garment disposal reasons.303139–
Koch and Domina (1997)Survey in the USA, 277 students (82% female). General disposal reasons and methods.293833–
Koch and Domina (1999) and Domina and Koch (1999)Survey in the USA, 396 adults (88% female). General disposal reasons and methods.213742–
Zhang et al. (2020)Survey in China, 507 adults (53% female). General disposal reasons.43192216
Ungerth and Carlsson (2011)Survey in Sweden, 1014 adults (age 16 – 74). The most common disposal reason.608219
YouGov (Stevanin, 2019)Survey in Italy, 992 adults, general disposal reasons.31242025
YouGov (2017a, 2017b, 2017c, 2017d, 2017e)Surveys in Australia, Philippine, Malaysia, Hong Kong & Singapore, in total 12,434 adults. General disposal reasons.3925297
MeanApprox. 20,000 adults34.125.831.412.6
Table 1. Summary of clothing disposal reasons in 17 consumer studies.

When the category of other/unknown reasons is excluded, the division between the three main disposal reason categories is quite similar, with intrinsic quality constituting about 37% of disposal reasons, followed by lack of perceived value (35%) and poor fit (28%) (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Clothing disposal reasons

Conclusion

A compilation of the research on clothing disposal motivations shows that there are three main reasons for disposal. Intrinsic quality, that is wear and tear and other physical changes of garments is the dominating disposal reason (37%), followed by lack of perceived value (35%) and poor fit (28%). This shows that almost two-thirds of garments are discarded for reasons other than physical durability. Poor fit/design together with lack of perceived value by the owner are responsible for the majority of clothing disposals.

Physical strength is one of the several factors that are important if the lifetime of clothing is to be increased. However, it does not help to make clothes stronger if they are not going to be used longer anyway: this will just contribute to increased environmental impacts from the production and disposal phases. We do not need «disposable products» that last for centuries. To work with reducing the environmental impacts of clothing consumption, it is important to optimize the match between strength, value and fit. Optimizing clothing lifespans will ensure the best possible utilization of the materials in line with the intentions of the circular economy.

References

Chun, H.-K. (1987). Differences between fashion innovators and non-fashion innovators in their clothing disposal practices. (Master’s thesis). Oregon State University, Corvallis. https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/v118rk195

Collett, M., Cluver, B., & Chen, H.-L. (2013). Consumer Perceptions the Limited Lifespan of Fast Fashion Apparel. Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, 17(2), 61-68. doi:10.1108/RJTA-17-02-2013-B009

Domina, T., & Koch, K. (1999). Consumer reuse and recycling of post-consumer textile waste. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 3(4), 346 – 359. doi:10.1108/eb022571

Klepp, I. G. (2001). Hvorfor går klær ut av bruk? Avhending sett i forhold til kvinners klesvaner [Why are clothes no longer used? Clothes disposal in relationship to women’s clothing habits]. Retrieved from Oslo: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12199/5390

Koch, K., & Domina, T. (1997). The effects of environmental attitude and fashion opinion leadership on textile recycling in the US. Journal of Consumer Studies & Home Economics, 21(1), 1-17. doi:10.1111/j.1470-6431.1997.tb00265.x

Koch, K., & Domina, T. (1999). Consumer Textile Recycling as a Means of Solid Waste Reduction. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 28(1), 3-17. doi:10.1177/1077727×99281001

Laitala, K., Boks, C., & Klepp, I. G. (2015). Making Clothing Last: A Design Approach for Reducing the Environmental Impacts. International Journal of Design, 9(2), 93-107.

Laitala, K., & Klepp, I. G. (2020). What Affects Garment Lifespans? International Clothing Practices Based on a Wardrobe Survey in China, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the USA. Sustainability, 12(21), 9151. Retrieved from https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/21/9151

Lang, C., Armstrong, C. M., & Brannon, L. A. (2013). Drivers of clothing disposal in the US: An exploration of the role of personal attributes and behaviours in frequent disposal. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 37(6), 706-714. doi:10.1111/ijcs.12060

Stevanin, E. (2019). Fast fashion: il continuo rinnovo del guardaroba. Retrieved from https://it.yougov.com/news/2019/05/27/fast-fashion-il-rinnovo-del-guardaroba/

Ungerth, L., & Carlsson, A. (2011). Vad händer sen med våra kläder? Enkätundersökning. Stockholm: http://www.konsumentforeningenstockholm.se/Global/Konsument%20och%20Milj%c3%b6/Rapporter/KfS%20rapport_april11_Vad%20h%c3%a4nder%20sen%20med%20v%c3%a5ra%20kl%c3%a4der.pdf

WRAP. (2017). Valuing Our Clothes: the cost of  UK fashion.  http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/valuing-our-clothes-the-cost-of-uk-fashion_WRAP.pdf

YouGov. (2017a). Fast fashion: 27% of Malaysians have thrown away clothing after wearing it just once. Retrieved from https://my.yougov.com/en-my/news/2017/12/06/fast-fashion/

YouGov. (2017b). Fast fashion: 39% of Hong Kongers have thrown away clothing after wearing it just once. Retrieved from https://hk.yougov.com/en-hk/news/2017/12/06/fast-fashion/

YouGov. (2017c). Fast fashion: a third of Filipinos have thrown away clothing after wearing it just once. Retrieved from https://ph.yougov.com/en-ph/news/2017/12/06/fast-fashion/

YouGov. (2017d). Fast fashion: a third of Singaporeans have thrown away clothing after wearing it just once. Retrieved from https://sg.yougov.com/en-sg/news/2017/12/06/fast-fashion/

YouGov. (2017e). Fast fashion: Three in ten Aussies have thrown away clothing after wearing it just once. Retrieved from www.au.yougov.com/news/2017/12/06/fast-fashion/

Zhang, L., Wu, T., Liu, S., Jiang, S., Wu, H., & Yang, J. (2020). Consumers’ clothing disposal behaviors in Nanjing, China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 276, 123184.

Klær og miljø: Innkjøp, gjenbruk og vask

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 23. april 2020

Sammendrag

Rapporten diskuterer klesanskaffelser og vedlikehold i dagens Norge basert på en spørreundersøkelse om bærekraftig forbruk. Respondentene rapporterte at de hadde anskaffet i gjennomsnitt 23,5 plagg i løpet av det siste året. De yngste mennene 18-19 år og alle kvinner frem til 59 år anskaffer like mye klær. Menn anskaffer færre ettersom de ble eldre og de eldste over 60 år anskaffer minst. Kvinner derimot holder samme nivået, 28-29 plagg uavhengig av alder frem til den eldste aldersgruppen. Kvinnene over 60 år anskaffer noe mindre (totalt 20 plagg). De aller fleste (20,2 av 23,5) plagg kjøpes nye. Dette tilsvarer 86% av klærne. Det nest vanligste måten å skaffe klær er å få de som gaver med 2 plagg per person.

I gjennomsnitt er det mindre enn ett plagg per person som er kjøpt brukt (0,6), og tilsvarende mindre enn ett plagg som er arvet (0,7). Totalt utgjør dette 1,3 gjenbrukte plagg per respondent per år. De unge kvinnene mellom 18 og 29 år anskaffet størst andel av gjenbrukte klærne med 12%. Klesvask har stor påvirkning på miljøbelastning og utgjør en vesentlig faktor for klesforbrukets miljøbelastning totalt sett. Ikke overaskende og helt i tråd med tidligere undersøkelser vaskes det kroppsnære plagget trøye, oftere enn gensere, og ullgensere og ulltrøyer sjeldnere enn tilsvarende plagg i bomull. Forbrukere som er opptatt av miljø vasker sitt ulltøy sjeldnere enn andre. En tilsvarende sammenheng finnes ikke for bomull.

Klikk her for å lese hele rapporten (oda.oslomet.no).

Summary

This report discusses clothing acquisition and maintenance in Norway based on a survey on sustainable consumption. Respondents reported that they had acquired an average of 23.5 garments during the past year. The youngest men (18-29 years) and all women up to age 59 purchase the same amount of clothing. Men acquire fewer as they grow older and the oldest age group over 60 years acquire the least. Women, on the other hand, hold the same level, 28-29 garments regardless of age up to the oldest age group. The women over the age of 60 purchase somewhat less (a total of 20 garments). The vast majority (20.2 out of 23.5) garments are purchased new. This corresponds to 86% of the clothes. The next most common way to get clothes is to receive them as gifts, with 2 garments per person. On average, less than one garment per person is purchased used (0.6), and correspondingly less than one garment that is received as hand-me-down (0.7). In total, this represents 1.3 second-hand garments per respondent per year. The young women between the ages of 18 and 29 acquired the largest share of reused clothing by 12%. Laundry has a major influence on environmental impact and is a significant factor for overall environmental impact of clothing consumption. Not surprisingly and completely in line with previous research, the next-to-skin garments are washed more often than sweaters, and woolen undershirts and sweaters are washed less often than similar cotton garments. Consumers concerned about the environment wash their woolen clothes less frequently than others. A similar connection does not exist for laundering frequency of cotton.

The full report is only available in Norwegian.

Wardrobe sizes and clothing lifespans

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 19. september 2019

Ingun Grimstad Klepp, Kirsi Laitala and Vilde Haugrønning

Abstract

It is easy to assume that a large wardrobe is characterized by excessive clothing and high acquisition, with little use of each garment and thus a big environmental impact. However, it is also possible to think the opposite; that the large wardrobe is a result of clothes remaining in use for a long time, that disposal happens rarely, while acquisition can be normal or even low. Whatever the reason, in a large wardrobe it is more likely that clothes become old before the technical life expires. This is because many of the garments are seldom used. Small wardrobes are often presented as favourable for both people and the environment, and as part of an ecological-friendly lifestyle, but we know little about the interaction between wardrobe sizes, longevity and the environmental impact.

In this paper, we investigate this relationship based on survey material from five countries; China, Germany, Japan, UK and the USA. We find that consumers with large wardrobes use their clothes longer, but consumers with small wardrobes use their clothes more often before they are disposed. We conclude that a good utilization of resources is possible with both large and small wardrobes, but in different ways. As we work towards more sustainable clothing consumption, we need to approach consumers differently, in order to give constructive advice to all.

This is a conference article from the 3rdPLATE 2019 Conference. Click here to find the full conference proceedings including this article (depositonce.tu-berlin.de).

Forbruk og det grønne skiftet

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 6. april 2018

Ingun Grimstad Klepp, Kirsi Laitala, Torvald Tangeland, Harald Throne Holst, Gunnar Vittersø, Marie Hebrok, Nina Heidenstrøm og Hanne Torjussen

Sammendrag

Dette er ett av fire notater utarbeidet på oppdrag fra Barne- og likestillingsdepartementet som underlag i arbeidet med en ny NOU om forbrukerpolitikk. Notatet er skrevet i samarbeid med kolleger på Forbruksforskningsinstituttet SIFO ved OsloMet. De fire notatene omhandler henholdsvis Forbruk og det grønne skiftet Forbrukernes digitale hverdag Forbrukernes utfordringer i dagligvaremarkedet Bolig i et forbrukerperspektiv Det sistnevnte notatet er utarbeidet ved NIBR ved OsloMet i samarbeid med SIFO.

Klikk her for å lese hele notatet (oda.oslomet.no).

Klesforbruk i Norge

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 20. april 2016

Ingun Grimstad Klepp og Kirsi Laitala

Sammendrag

Denne rapporten gir en samlet gjennomgang av sentrale temaer omkring klesforbruket i Norge. Rapporten er skrevet for å danne grunnlag for en oppdatering av SIFOs Referansebudsjett innen klær og sko og samtidig gjøre kunnskapen om klesforbruk lettere tilgjengelig for alle interesserte. De enkelte kapitlene tar opp ulike sider ved forbruk av klær som har relevans for SIFOs Referansebudsjett. Vi diskuterer den totale mengden klær og klærs levetid, og går gjennom alle forbruksfasene fra anskaffelse, bruk i ulike anledninger, vedlikehold, gjenbruk og til avhending.

Klikk her for å lese hele rapporten (oda.oslomet.no).

Summary

This report compiles and summarizes the recent clothing and textiles research of SIFOand provides a comprehensive review of the key issues concerning clothing consumption in Norway. The report is written to form the basis for an update of SIFO Reference Budget of clothes and shoes and to make the knowledge of clothing consumption more accessible to all interested parties. The individual chapters address different aspects of clothing consumption which are relevant to SIFOs Reference Budget. We discuss the total amount of clothes and clothing life, and go through all consumption stages including the procurement, use indifferent occasions, maintenance, recycling and disposal.

The full report is only available in Norwegian.

Forbrukstrender 2014

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 17. september 2014

Red.: Randi Lavik og Elling Borgeraas

Sammendrag

SIFO samler årlig inn store mengde data om ulike sider ved forbruket og forbrukernes situasjon i markedet. Målsettingen er å fremskaffe kunnskap om forbrukerne og hvordan forbrukermarkedene fungerer sett fra forbrukernes side. En stor del av datamaterialet er knyttet til områder der SIFO ønsker å følge utviklingen over tid. I denne rapporten har vi samlet opplysninger om forbrukstrender fra ulike SIFO-surveyer presentert av ulike forskere ved SIFO. Temaene er kroppsrelatert matforbruk og helse, forbrukernes forhold til reklame, holdninger til søndagsåpne butikker, mobilitet i tjenestemarkedet, arv og deling av klær, sko og sportsutstyr, miljø og forbruk, den økonomiske situasjonen for norske husholdninger og deres betalingsproblemer, mobil betaling.

Klikk her for å lese hele rapporten (oda.oslomet.no).

Leisure and sustainable development in Norway: part of the solution and the problem

Lisbeth Løvbak Berg on 24. oktober 2011

Carlo Aall, Ingun Grimstad Klepp, Agnes Brudvik Engeset, Silje Elisabeth Skuland and Eli Støa

Abstract

The article presents the results of two succeeding Norwegian studies on the environmental impacts of leisure consumption. The first study presents data on the total consumption of leisure products and services by Norwegians, showing that leisure consumption increases more than everyday consumption, the most energy-intensive leisure activities increase the most, leisure activities have become more dependent on transportation and that leisure activities are to an increasing extent based on more material consumption. The second study consists of case studies from four leisure activities in Norway that have experienced the greatest increases in consumption over the last two decades: outdoor recreation clothing, cabins, leisure boating and leisure transportation.

The case studies show that the problems connected with reducing the environmental impacts of leisure consumption are numerous and complex, and cannot be solved alone by technological improvements in leisure products and services. We conclude that new policies have to be developed which can on a short-term basis promote changes of leisure consumer habits in a more environmentally friendly direction, and on a long-term basis alter the existing strong links between economic growth and leisure consumption.

Click here to read the full article (tandfonline.com).