1 in 3 UK adults have binned brand-new clothes in the last year, 'wreaking havoc' on the environment

• An estimated 1.4 billion items of clothing are thrown away by UK adults each year according to new research.

• This is concerning as the fashion industry is one of the most polluting sectors and uses vast amounts of water – 215 trillion litres annually, equivalent to 86 million Olympic-sized swimming pools and relies on thousands of chemicals, many of them harmful.

• Reasons for binning clothes included lack of skills to repair or alter them - more than a quarter lack confidence in basic sewing such as putting on a button and 44% aren’t confident stitching up a hem.

• Community repair cafés and groups such as those funded by The National Lottery Community Fund can help to cut clothes waste, save money and connect communities, boosting both sustainability and mental health.

Nearly one in three adults (32%) have thrown away brand new clothes in the last year, adding an estimated 1.4 billion items of clothing to an out-of-control mountain of clothing waste. That’s according to new research by Censuswide commissioned by The National Lottery Community Fund.

The survey of 2,752 UK adults found that one in five people (20%) who said they put unworn or rarely worn clothing in the bin did so because they didn’t think they were worth selling or donating.

A lack of mending skills was also to blame. Over a quarter said they lacked confidence in basic sewing such as putting on a button (26%) and over two in five aren’t confident stitching up a hem (44%).

Research by leading global environmental NGO WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) shows that if people repair an item of clothing, they will keep it for at least another year on average. Mending clothes can also help people become more aware of their spending and consumption, reducing the number of items bought and sent to landfill.

The National Lottery Community Fund says community-led solutions such as repair cafés (where people can work with volunteer experts to mend clothes or broken household items) and upcycling groups could play a role in reducing the impact on the environment, by reducing the need for creating new items as well as improving people’s mental health, building friendships and a sense of community.

Charity initiatives like Oxfam’s Second Hand September and the launch of Shelter’s Rescue and Repair campaign have made headlines recently, showing a growing awareness of the environmental impact of our throwaway culture and an appetite to tackle the issue.

A Teesside autism charity has turned a waste problem into a groundbreaking solution. Daisy Chain launched sustainable fashion brand Neuthread after discovering up to 50% of their clothing donations were unusable – a challenge facing charities nationwide.

The results speak for themselves: nearly a million items saved from landfill in 12 months, and in 2024, Daisy Chain became the first charity ever to showcase at London Fashion Week. Supported by The National Lottery Community Fund's Climate Action Fund, Daisy Chain is also creating employment opportunities for autistic and neurodiverse people – the disability group with the lowest employment rates – and partnering with universities to embed sustainable fashion skills in curricula.

Corporate Partnership and Events Manager 45-year-old Cara Baumann joined Neuthread as a volunteer and says the project has made a huge difference to her both personally and professionally: "Three years ago if someone told me I'd be taking a show to London Fashion Week I'd have said you're nuts! But volunteering as a designer gave me the confidence to be my authentic self and last year, I finally had the courage to get my autism diagnosis. I've gone from being very hard on myself to forgiving myself – I'm more expressive now, more creative. What started as a sustainability and community-driven fashion brand gathered momentum, and taking a show to London Fashion Week was a dream come true."

In addition to helping the planet, those who attended repair cafés and fixing groups said they had experienced other benefits. More than a third said it helped them save money and feel they were ‘doing their bit’ to tackle climate change. More than a quarter said it helped them socialise, and over one in five said it helped calm their anxiety.

As well as throwing away clothes, on average 60% of adults in the UK have thrown away household items in the last year including toasters, washing machines and hairdryers.

In the last four years, The National Lottery Community Fund has awarded almost £300m to over 3,500 environmental projects across the UK including repair cafés, upcycling and sewing groups, helping people from Belfast to Brighton and everywhere in between to mend clothes as well as fix broken household items.

The National Lottery Community Fund is now urging the public to seek out their local repair café or mending group to repair or recycle clothing or damaged household items instead of throwing them away. It is also calling on charities and community groups to apply for funding to set up projects in their community which could help the environment. Funding is available for environmental projects of all shapes and sizes, from small grants of up to £20,000 through its open access Awards for All programme to organisations working across the UK through the Climate Action Fund.

John Rose, Environment Lead at The National Lottery Community Fund said:

“It’s shocking that there is still such a throwaway culture and an out-of-control mountain of clothes waste, wreaking havoc on our environment.

“While fighting fashion waste is no easy feat and needs collective action, there are small steps everyone can take that will help the planet such as taking clothing or other broken items to be mended at a repair café.

“You could save money, learn new skills, forge friendships and be part of your community helping to save the planet and doing something truly life-changing.

“There are many people who are keen to make a positive difference to the environment where they live, whether that’s setting up a repair café, starting a community garden or helping people learn how to reduce their energy use, and we want to encourage them to get in touch with us to see if we can help them with funding at https://bit.ly/Environmentfunding.”