ONE-QUARTER of Christmas jumpers bought last year were thrown away or are unlikely to be worn again because people do not want to be seen in the same one twice, a survey has found.

Environmental charity Hubbub found that one in three under-35s buys a new Christmas jumper every year as the novelty fashion becomes an established part of the festive season.

The poll found that 29 per cent of consumers think the sweaters – emblazoned with anything ranging from delicate snowflake patterns to flashing lights – are so cheap they might as well get a new one every year.

Hubbub’s campaign is urging the public to “jazz up” their jumpers or pass them on as figures suggest that £220 million will be spent on them in the run-up to Christmas. It warned the “incessant need for new” is harming the environment.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation recently exposed the waste in the fashion industry, and how the throwaway nature of fashion has created a business which creates greenhouse emissions of 1.2 billion tonnes a year – more than that of international flights and shipping.