Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Does anyone actually only wear their clothes for ten times?!

70 replies

Parrotanne · 02/08/2021 23:47

There are so many adverts at the minute that have me shouting/muttering/cringing/scoffing at the telly that it’s difficult to pick one to moan about! But the vanish one has just been on - the one that says, on average, clothes are worn ten times before being thrown out

Who does that?! I don’t know anyone who does. I definitely don’t - I have clothes that go back 20 years (I can’t get into them mind, but that’s another story!)

OP posts:
Bananalanacake · 03/08/2021 07:31

I buy second hand so they must have been worn before me

Intherightplace · 03/08/2021 07:31

@Disfordarkchocolate

If I like it I wear it. If I don't like it then it does to a charity shop. Very few clothes get thrown out none after 10 wears.
A lot of what you send to charity does end up "thrown out" though. Charity shops can only stock so much and are choosy
Nitgel · 03/08/2021 07:31

Do you all stay the same size ?

DaisyDreaming · 03/08/2021 07:31

It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s true. Items I love I wear unlimited times for years but most people also own clothes (myself included) which they never wear. How many people own multiple pairs of jeans but only wear their favourite or have 101 items which they have ‘to fit into once I loose a bit more weight’. If you average it all out it might come out at something like 10 times only per item

saltedcaramelanything · 03/08/2021 07:32

If that weren't true - how would you explain the existence & success of all the fast-fashion stores?

Of course it's not everyone. And I'd venture to guess it's more so for people in their teens/20s - so likely not the people on MN

RickOShay · 03/08/2021 07:36

God no. I also buy mostly second hand. I have a fine stripy Benetton t shirt that I wore about 30 years ago, dd looks great in it, and it still looks fresh and current. I love seeing her wear it.

bongbigboobingbongbing · 03/08/2021 07:50

My wardrobe is either things that I have worn for the last 20 years until they are falling apart, or things with the tags still on. Not much in between Grin

LauraFlashley · 03/08/2021 07:53

DH questioned that ad the other night. It definitely doesn't happen in this house!

It actually really annoyed me. It's almost reinforcing the notion that it's fine to buy something from Primark, wear it a few times then bin it because that's what everyone else does!

WhatsMyNameGonnaBeNow · 03/08/2021 07:55

I’d like to see the study this is based because a quick google brings up a number of studies and articles which (on a quick skim as I’m getting ready for work) seem to indicate the average wear is a lot higher than ten times. There’s no doubt age, income and lifestyle will be factors but I can’t believe it averages out at 10 wears.

JustMeAndWheatley · 03/08/2021 07:56

Only formal evening dresses. I go to one black tie event a year max,

BeaBeaBuzz · 03/08/2021 08:02

I can kind of see this to be honest. About 20% of my wardrobe I wear all the time so probably gets 100s of wears. The rest is formal stuff I’ve worn to 2 weddings, stuff I bought on a whim and didn’t wear, ‘holiday’ stuff that gets worn once a year, stuff I may (or may not) slim back in to. So yeah I can see the average being around that mark

FreeBritnee · 03/08/2021 08:03

Pmsl. Some of my clothes are still being worn even though they are twenty years old!!

Strugglingtodomybest · 03/08/2021 08:05

Well the advert worked as we're all talking about it!

But yeah, I wear most of my clothes until they fall off me and I recycle the stuff I don't wear (charity shop, women's refuge, clothes swap parties, give away on Facebook). The falling apart stuff goes to rags. I don't think I've ever actually thrown clothes away? But then, not being able to throw things away, just in case I might need them for something in the future, is definitely one of my problems!

vampirethriller · 03/08/2021 08:08

Most of my clothes have been worn more than that before I even get them

Tittyfilarious81 · 03/08/2021 08:08

To be fair it might be true I was in Primark a few weeks back and some teenage girls were behind me saying how the outfit they were buying was great because it was cheap and they'd probably chick it in the bin after theyd worn it that Saturday night so some stuff I guess younger 1 s don't even wash once Shock

AuntieMarys · 03/08/2021 08:09

I don't throw clothes away unless they are ripped/ holey. I sell on brands like Mint Velvet and clothes from tall ranges...I'm a member of a tall womens' selling site and things get snapped up quickly.
I take the rest to the charity shop half a dozen times a year.

WhatsMyNameGonnaBeNow · 03/08/2021 08:11

I’ve just watched the ad again and what the voiceover says is too many of our clothes are worn just ten times before being thrown away and replaced. So while throwing any clothing item away after just ten wears is of course wasteful, it’s not saying that’s the average wear.

Mind you the cynic in me kicks in with that ad which suggests using their stain removal products will somehow have a measurable impact on the problem of disposable fashion!

Lockdownbear · 03/08/2021 08:14

Work and casual clothes will be worn way more than 10 times.

Dress stuff, no probably not. I wonder if that's the average thing pulling the numbers down.

WaltzingTilda · 03/08/2021 08:16

I keep most of my clothes for years. But I think I read an article somewhere that a lot of people buy Primark type clothes and bin them after one wear and something about whether clothes should be made of better quality for people to wear much longer in order to prevent waste (something along those lines anyway)..

randomsabreuse · 03/08/2021 08:18

Most things in our house get worn lots more than that, although there are certainly some leggings and tights belonging to my 5yo that get worn once then are shredded on the knees (and too flimsy to repair). I also count myself lucky when my own tights make it through a day (when I wear them which obviously isn't common at the moment). I thought I'd solved that a bit (sports leggings being tougher than cotton ones) but she went through the backside and knee of her toughest leggings last week. To be fair they're about a year old so more than 10 wears.

I have a coat and evening dresses going back 20 years. I've also already worn some new leggings more than that in less than a month...

megletthesecond · 03/08/2021 08:18

The work shirt I'm wearing today is over ten years old and been worn hundreds of times. And it's Primark.
The only items I bin are ancient pants or odd socks, and even then they're used for cleaning a few times before I get rid of them.

WorriedWishingWell · 03/08/2021 08:18

I may be mistaken but I think this statistic was discussed on More or Less on Radio 4 a couple of years ago. And possibly debunked.
Although if the voiceover is saying "too many" items are thrown away after less than 10 uses, that's not saying that most items are thrown away after that amount of usage. It could be an opinion that even one item being thrown away is too many.

kowari · 03/08/2021 08:19

@Nitgel

Do you all stay the same size ?
In general I'd make changes when clothes start to get too tight. Except when I was underweight and then got back to a healthy weight I needed to pass on some things.
Polkadots2021 · 03/08/2021 08:28

@Parrotanne

There are so many adverts at the minute that have me shouting/muttering/cringing/scoffing at the telly that it’s difficult to pick one to moan about! But the vanish one has just been on - the one that says, on average, clothes are worn ten times before being thrown out

Who does that?! I don’t know anyone who does. I definitely don’t - I have clothes that go back 20 years (I can’t get into them mind, but that’s another story!)

I have clothes that date back 20 years too! But fast fashion is a big thing now. Apparently now we buy twice as much but hold on to each piece half as long and it's causing huge environmental problems.
InTheNightWeWillWish · 03/08/2021 08:34

I threw a bra out once after two wears. It was like a torture device. I wore it a second time after adjusting the straps and wore with a different top to see if the first time was a fluke, it wasn’t. I wouldn’t inflict that on another woman and so binned that one. I did consider setting fire to it but I felt that might anger it!

Overall, I have some items that I’ve worn a handful of times and then got too fat for, a handful of items I’ve worn to events but most of my stuff is worn until it’s knackered.

Swipe left for the next trending thread