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.
- READ MORE: Families take months to pay for Christmas
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.
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