Americans throw out 10 pieces of clothing a year for not knowing how to care for them

A survey of 2,000 Americans conducted by OnePoll in partnership with Nordstrom’s personal styling service Trunk Club has found that they throw away an average of 10 clothing items a year due to shrinkage, color issues and damage. While some fashion retailers indeed offer low quality garments that don’t last, consumers themselves are also to blame. No less than 43 percent of respondents said they rarely or never read the care instructions before doing the laundry and 29 percent rarely or never use spot cleaning products following a spill.

“We were amazed to learn how much people are over-laundering their garments, especially those made of quality fabrics. We lose an incredible 600 pieces of clothing in our lifetime because we don’t properly care for them”, said Maggie Mee, Head of Merchandising for Trunk Club, in a statement.

Silk, cashmere, suede and leather are the fabrics consumers have the most trouble taking care of, with many surveyors saying they are so intimidated by those materials they avoid buying them.

Header image: Pixabay. Infographic: courtesy of Trunk Club