Some people may not know what "clothing loss" is in the first place.
Whether you know or don't know this will help you learn a lot about clothing loss!
What is clothing loss?
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Clothing loss refers to garments that are discarded even though they can still be used due to various reasons
such as overproduction by garment producers, delivery delays, or order cancellations.
Other words with a similar meaning include fashion loss and clothing waste loss.
This has led to a variety of environmental problems and economic losses.
It is said to be more serious than the food loss that is currently the focus of attention.
However, "clothing loss" is not so prevalent in our society today.
Read this site to get a better understanding of clothing loss!
bite-sized note
The amount of food loss in 2016 was about 6.43 million tons.
Currently, the amount of food loss is increasing due to the new coronavirus.
Current status of clothing loss
How many clothes do you buy and how many do you give away in a year?
I don't know if I've ever thought about it that way.
The average annual consumption and use of clothing per Japanese person is about 18 pieces purchased,
about 12 pieces given away, and about 25 pieces never worn in a year.
People are buying more clothes than they are giving them away!
Are there too many clothes that you haven't worn once?
That's right.
Let's take a closer look at these causes.
People are buying more clothes than they are giving them away.
One of the reasons for a lot of clothing that has never been worn is
that they were purchased through online shopping, which is easy to do with just one click,
but when they arrive, they find that the size doesn't fit or it's not what they expected, so they give up wearing it.
There are also three main ways to let go of your clothes.
The first is to sell, give away, or donate them as used clothing. This accounts for 14% of the total.
The second is to have them collected as resources or in the community or stores. This accounts for 18% of the total.
The third is to dispose of it as combustible or non-combustible waste. This accounts for 68% of the total.
In Japan alone, about 2.9 billion garments are supplied annually, but more than 1.5 billion garments remain unsold each year. It is estimated that about 1 million tons of these clothes are disposed of annually.
Even if you were told the enormous figure of one million tons, you would have no idea whatsoever.
So I compared it to something familiar to us all!
One million tons means
・The equivalent of 250 Tokyo Towers (4,000 tons per Tokyo Tower)
・Equivalent to 25 Tokyo Sky Trees (4,000 tons per Tokyo Sky Tree)
・Equivalent to 20 Titanic ships (Titanic is about 50,000 tons)
That's an amazing number.
This much weight of clothing goes to waste every year.
In Japan alone, about 2.9 billion garments are supplied annually, but more than 1.5 billion garments remain unsold each year.