Every year in the UK, we throw away a staggering amount of clothing. 

Between 300,000 and 350,000 tonnes of used clothing are sent to landfill or incinerated annually. That equates to roughly one billion garments. On average, each person discards around 7 kilograms of clothing every year.

What is most striking is that much of this waste is not caused by garments being worn out. It is caused by garments being abandoned.

After years working in clothing alterations and repairs, I have come to believe that one of the biggest environmental challenges in fashion is not just production. It is the way we have lost the habit of looking after the clothes we already own.

Most of the items brought into our stores are not beyond saving. They are well-made pieces with small issues.

A broken zip.

A loose seam.

A jacket that feels slightly too big.

Jeans worn at the inner thigh.

These are problems that can often be solved quickly, yet many garments are discarded instead.

The scale of this becomes even clearer when you look inside our wardrobes. Around 30 percent of clothing in the UK has not been worn for at least a year. At the same time, millions of unworn or barely worn garments are thrown away.

One reason is confidence. Many people do not feel able to carry out even basic repairs themselves. That loss of practical skills has quietly accelerated clothing waste.

The reality is that many garments could easily be saved. Replacing a zip can revive a jacket. A seam repair can extend the life of trousers. A simple alteration can turn something rarely worn into a favourite again.

Research shows that when people repair clothing, they tend to keep it for at least another year. Extending the life of garments, even slightly, reduces demand for new production and lowers environmental impact.

For those of us working in alterations, this is something we see every day. Clothes that still have years of life left in them are given a second chance.

Repair also changes how people think about their wardrobes. Clothes become more personal. Something that has been altered to fit properly feels different. It is no longer just another item, it becomes something worth keeping.

Fashion will always celebrate the new. But in a country where wardrobes are already full, the most sustainable choice may not be buying something different.

It may simply be keeping what you already have.