Christmas jumpers ‘just end up in landfill’ – here’s why you should buy second hand

Hundreds of thousands of Christmas jumpers end up in the dump every year – but you can do your part by buying second-hand this holiday season.

A new survey from Oxfam has found that just over one-quarter of people in the UK plan on buying novelty Christmas clothing this year.

Of those planning to buy festive fashion, 75% expect to wear their purchases less than five times.

The charity calculated that if all UK adults bought Christmas jumpers second-hand this year, it could prevent 66 million kilogrammes of carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere.

On Breakfast Briefing, Senator Rebecca Moynihan said people should be “more conscious” when purchasing fast-fashion items that are often made partly or wholly from plastic.  

Second-hand options

Senator Moynihan said the public should consider buying second-hand items instead.

“One of the things we have to do is try and be a little bit more conscious of what we’re buying,” she said.

“What I’d like to see is us trying to buy them [Christmas jumpers] in the circular economy, buy them if they’re already there, and not create new demand for them.

“Thinks like swap shops I think are important or buying from second-hand sites like Depop or eBay.”

Dumped

Senator Moynihan said most Christmas jumpers end up in the dump.

“We do know that people are buying disposable fashion and they are just adding to landfills,” she said.

“The carbon it takes to make these products also costs a lot of money.

“The making of fast fashion produces huge amounts of carbon, it’s more than flying and it’s more than shipping produces.”

Action

The Labour Party’s climate spokesperson called on the Government to take action.

“The Government should be tapping in and supporting the circular economy,” said Senator Moynihan.

“We need to change how we consume so rather than create demand for new things we need to look at what’s already there.

“Particularly when it comes to vintage clothing, it’s already better made and is much better quality for the most part.”

Senator Moynihan added that fast fashion clothing “is made to fall apart” after a couple of washes.

Main Image: Christmas Stalls selling jumpers on Henry Street in Dublin 02/12/2016. Photo: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

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