The cost-of-living crisis has meant many people are altering their spending habits. The rise in energy prices and high food prices has shown many people are unable to spend what they used to on luxury products and activities. This has led to a 23% reduction in social spending, 41% of people not putting their heating on and nearly 2 in 5 people have stopped spending on clothes.
From research, 57% of fashion consumers have been looking to purchase more sustainable clothing. Purchasing more sustainable clothing could mean the clothes lasting longer, help with climate change and use natural resources. However, 55% of people have found that sustainable fashion is too expensive. This has led many people to find other ways to make new outfits.
By not being able to afford old fashion habits, many people have turned to charity shops and even recycled their own clothes into new items. Recycling your own clothes will save you a large amount of money, and give your old clothes a new lease on life. Many people have been taking enjoyment out of this recycling task and have become very creative.
Josephine Philips, who founded SOJO, an app that repairs older clothes, wants people to think about not throwing clothes out and fixing them instead. She tells BBC Newsbeat that she “really wants people to think of repair as something exciting. It's an experience you can enjoy," She goes on to say this is a better way to save, as well as a new way to bring joy and accomplishment into everyone’s life.
Top tips for recycling clothes
- Think, can you make this item into something new? A top into a skirt?
- Reuse old clothes and make a new product like a pillowcase or blanket.
- If you don’t think you’ll end up using your old clothes, give them to someone who will send them to a charity shop or a textile bank.
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