Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Next join Stella McCartney and charities in bid to cut 15% of clothing waste by 2020
Britons are being urged to extend the life of their clothing to avoid 350,000 tonnes of garments worth an estimated £140m ending up in landfill.
High street fashion outlets including Tesco, M&S and Next, fashion designer Stella McCartney, recyclers and charities have joined forces to pledge a 15% reduction in carbon, water and waste going to landfill by 2020.
In the tradition of the wartime Make Do and Mend campaign, the Love Your Clothes campaign will open up consumers' wardrobes to see what is lurking in them and how people can extend the life of their clothes, save money and keep them out of landfill.
The campaign's research showed that British households were hanging on to £30bn worth of clothes which have not been worn in the last year, while 350,000 tonnes of clothing worth £140m is binned annually. The average UK household owns around £4,000 worth of clothing and buys around £1,700 of clothes each year.
The campaign has been developed by Wrap, the organisation behind Love Food Hate Waste, which helps consumers waste less food.
Wrap chief executive, Liz Goodwin, said: "Clothes cost money. Not getting the most out of them by mixing and matching garments, repairing favoured items, selling them on, or giving to charity shops means we're not getting the most out of that hard earned money, and wasting scarce resources."
The Love Your Clothes website has advice on choosing clothing designed to last longer, buying second-hand clothes, using energy-efficient laundry methods that keep your clothes looking good, repairing and altering clothes, as well as donating, swapping or selling unwanted items. The site also shows how clothes too damaged or worn can still be donated for recycling rather than ending up in the bin.