How lockdown changed our fashion shopping habits

The fashion industry is a huge contributor to climate change. As we wrote in our recent guide to high street fashion, some estimate that it could contribute as much as 10% of total carbon emissions and is estimated to actually increase its carbon emissions by 50% by 2030.

With this in mind we wanted to see how our community was trying to reduce its climate impacts through the way they consumed fashion items and clothing. We asked

How have your clothing habits changed during the pandemic?

As you might expect the overwhelming majority of our readers were already doing their bit pre pandemic, but more time at home had an impact on a high percentage of our readers in some way, with 80% changing something over the course of the pandemic.

People mentioned repairing clothes, looking into renting items, and supporting more ethical producers. All of which are recommendations in our High Street Clothes and Ethical Clothing guides.

Overwhelmingly the emphasis was on buying less or buying second-hand. Hopefully this demonstrates a shift away from fast fashion, which has seen the average person buying 60% more clothing than 20 years ago. One respondent said:

“I hope that the pandemic has at least been an eye opener as far as the clothing industry is concerned.”

The results also chimed with previous research done for our annual Ethical Consumer Markets Report, which found that online apps for second-hand clothing were on the rise, and 42% of people were planning to buy second-hand clothing in the future.

And the survey said...

A whopping 80% had changed their habits. Of these:

Over half (52%) said they'd either bought less or bought nothing new.

20% (or about 1 in 5) said they’d bought second-hand:

• “I switched to buying second hand from online groups and Facebook Marketplace.”
• “I ended up needing maternity clothes over lockdown and, other than two pairs of leggings, I sourced everything second hand.”
• “As no charity shops have been open, I've used the eBay and Vinted apps to buy clothes.”

“Charity shops being closed was problematic for me and kids - especially kids who are fussy (texture) and growing absurdly quickly (young teens).”

16% (or about 1 in 6) said they'd tried to use more ethical suppliers:

• “I buy very little, only undies and then only from ethical sources.”
• “I tried to source ethical clothing: more expensive but hopefully they last longer.”
• "I sourced ethically where possible, e.g. vegan shoes. I have used advice from Ethical Consumer frequently.”
• "I started to actively avoid companies with dubious records in terms of the environment and workers’ rights.”

What did people say their intentions were, going forwards?

• “I may even look to rent outfits needed for potential one-off occasions.”
• “To buy less but probably spend the same amount.”
• “To no longer care if it looks a bit odd or quirky. It's my style.”
• “To think again and again before actually buying anything.”
• “To move even more to quality over quantity.”
• “To be willing to spend as much as is needed to produce clothes ethically. I'm addicted to the dopamine buzz of a bargain. This is my main challenge. Buy less and pay a fair price.”
• “To a) spread the word & b) delve further into the sustainability of different companies.”

20% of all respondents said their habits had not really changed, usually because they already were very minimal and selective in what they bought.

“I looked at my clothes and decided to wear the clothes I really like instead of keeping them 'for best'”.