100 Billion Pieces Of Clothing Are Made Every Year Globally

Whilst researching for our sizing project, I came across some very shocking statistics that even shocked me. A fantastic report published by   Zurich   makes a fascinating read. It is estimated that 100 billion pieces of clothing are made every year on the planet.

The clothing and fashion industry contributes 10% to the worlds carbon footprint. The report also suggests that in some Countries in the world, it does not specify which Countries, that up to 40% of clothing items have never been used. The average UK online fashion business suffers from @54% of items returned, in the main because the   clothes do not fit  or suit the customer.

From the data we have gathered and been fortunate enough to acquire only 8.2% of the UK population can easily find clothes to fit (Kantar Sept 2022).  When we talk to women both our customers and non-customers, the feedback we get is pretty consistent and certainly always creates an emotional response.

Fit is always the biggest bugbear, followed closely by quality; fabric and the make of the clothing. The 3rd thing and is the biggest shock to us, is a state of mind as opposed to something physical.

Every single woman we speak to has some kind of negative emotional response to trying to find clothes that they want to wear. 

"I hate shopping"

"I find shopping really depressing"

"There is nothing out there for me"

"I cannot try anything on in the changing rooms, because I hate what I see"

"Nothing suits me"

"I don't want to look frumpy"

"I dislike the role models that retailers put in front of me for my age, claiming I need to look like this and I really don't and never will"

"I don't like fussy clothing and I want to feel great and look good"

"I don't want to dress like my daughter"

"I don't want to look matronly, just because of my age and my body shape"

So if you take all the above statistics and do the maths, assuming that it is reasonably accurate, it makes for a shocking number of clothes that are made and not needed EVER. 

So why are we different?

1. We have become very discerning when it comes to fabrics, rejecting over 95% of what we believe is not good enough. Fabrics have to look great, feel wonderful, make into appropriate styles and above all last whilst wearing. We have not got everything right and still have a way to go, but we are focused.
2. We have spent months working on getting the styles right that look good on the women that are part of our community. To qualify each style has to fit well, be made beautifully, look good and can be worn every day, irrespective of event or in most instances the weather. 
3. The cut of our styles have to be flattering, have to be comfortable and above all have to be contemporary not matronly or aging. 

There is so much "greenwashing" out there and in our work and thorough approach lots of businesses claiming sustainability credentials are either being misguided or are misleading. Our approach is much more about the right product that lasts and will be worn every day or regularly.

I was following a TikTok follower @emvexed who, apart from being highly entertaining with her self deprecating banter on real life, actually raises some very poignant points. There are some clothing pieces that are very difficult to get right on fit, so we have not got round to those just yet and are focusing on what we believe we can get right.

Jeans are one such area as is knitwear. Dresses are also a challenge and our dresses are very much based on flexible end use and a flattering fit for most. 

Whilst our approach to sustainability and reducing the planets carbon footprint is a different one and looks at the problem from the other end of the telescope. The outcome is the same and that is to reduce the amount of clothing we make, buy and use and feel great at the same time.

Julia at Rey-House.com