Americans Throw Out 600 Pieces Of Clothing In Their Lifetime

Personal styling service Trunk Club has launched its newest campaign, Caring for Clothing, which aims to provide resources for consumers to better care for the pieces they buy. As a part of the campaign, Trunk Club conducted a survey of Americans to better understand their struggles caring for their clothes and found that they throw away at least 10 items each year due to shrinkage, color issues and damage. Additionally, 43% responded they rarely or never read the care instructions on their clothing before doing the laundry. And, 21% rarely if ever follow instructions featured directly on the care tag. Maggie Mee, head of merchandising for Trunk Club, said, “We lose an incredible 600 pieces of clothing in our lifetime because we don’t properly care for them. When in doubt, always look at the clothing care tag first.” Americans also blame finicky fabrics for many of their laundering disasters. Silk sits at the top of the list of difficult fabrics, but cashmere, suede, leather, and clothing with sequins ranked in the top five. Some are so intimidated by these fabrics that they report they won’t buy them – 36% said they avoid buying silk because of its care routine. Additional findings include:

• 29% admit to rarely or never using spot cleaning methods to clean their clothing following a spill.
• 56% of people say that they hang their sweaters.
• Storing denim seems to be a polarizing issue – 48% say they fold their jeans while 47% say they hang them.

For tips on ways to care for your clothing and to access the caring for clothing calculator, visit www.trunkclub.com/blog/cost-per-wear.