How your wardrobe has used more than 600,000 litres of water

The average British wardrobe used up more than 600,000 litres of water during the clothing manufacturing process – with jeans, hoodies and jumpers the worst offenders, according to a study.

It found the average person in the UK owns a total of 101 garments, including 10 t-shirts, six jumpers, four jackets, six trousers and five jeans.

Overall, the average British wardrobe has used 634,510 litres of water, enough to fill a quarter of an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

In fact, 35 trillion litres of water was used in producing the UK’s collective wardrobe – the equivalent to draining the River Thames fifteen times over.

The survey of 8,007 people aged 16 and over by the Censuswide research group, found that two-thirds of Brits have never thought about how their clothes get their colour.

Much of the water in clothing production is used for growing cotton, a crop which requires significant amounts of water.

But once harvested, cotton and other clothing fibers, including synthetic ones, go through multiple water-intensive processes like scouring (removing impurities), bleaching, dyeing, and finishing (treating the garments with chemicals to improve strength, durability or other factors).

The UK’s worst water wardrobe offenders – in litres

• Jeans: 18,528
• Hoodies: 14,364
• Sweaters: 13,933
• Shirts and blouses: 12,863
• Jackets: 7,678
• Trousers: 6,917
• Skirts: 6,517
• Coats: 5,906
• T shirts: 5,665
• Dresses: 5,658
• Leggings/tights: 5,357
• Shorts: 3,748
• Underpants/knickers: 2,804
• Pairs of socks: 935

Source: Censuswide

Each stage of production is water-intensive – during the process and to rinse off afterwards.

Amongst the worst wardrobe offenders were jeans that used over 18,000 litres of water, and jumpers (hoodies) that used over 14,000 litres, according to the study.

Meanwhile, the dyeing process for a jacket typically requires over 3,300 litres – almost half of the water needed to produce the garment.

“The enormous water footprint of the fashion industry and the strain it has on our planet’s already limited water resources is hugely concerning. It is vital that we change how we value and use the clothes that are already in existence, as well as how we produce new ones,” Lorna Fallon, Oxfam’s Retail Director, told The i Paper.

“By recirculating clothes – buying, wearing and donating second-hand – we can reduce the demand for new clothes and damage to our planet,” she said.

An analysis by Oxfam in September revealed that buying just one pair of jeans and a t-shirt second-hand instead of new could help save the equivalent of 20,000 standard bottles of water.

“Fashion is one of the world’s most influential and inspiring industries but as our research indicates, it also has a significant impact on our planet’s resources,” added Maria Eagling of the Epson printer company which commissioned the research. The company has developed technology that significantly reduces the amount of water used in the colour printing stage of clothing production.

The makeup of the average UK wardrobe (for one person, male) includes

• T-shirts – 11
• Shirts & blouses – 7
• Sweaters – 5
• Mid-layers – 3
• Jackets – 4
• Coats – 4
• Trousers – 6
• Jeans – 5
• Shorts – 5
• Dresses/ jumpsuits – 1
• Skirts – 1
• Leggings/tights – 1
• Hoodies – 5
• Underpants/ knickers – 11
• Pairs of socks – 13

The makeup of the average UK wardrobe (for one person, female) includes

• T-shirts – 10
• Shirts & blouses – 6
• Sweaters – 7
• Mid-layers – 5
• Jackets – 4
• Coats – 4
• Trousers – 6
• Jeans – 5
• Shorts – 4
• Dresses/ jumpsuits – 7
• Skirts – 4
• Leggings/tights -3
• Hoodies – 4
• Underpants/ knickers – 12
• Pairs of socks – 12

  Source: Censuswide