by Nissa Hanna
According to Ginny Snook Scott, chief design officer of California Closets, the average person regularly wears only 20% of the clothing in his or her closet (WSJ.com, 17 April 2013). Our IconoCommunities shed light on the reasons why — and remind us that self-reporting can be a bit more generous.
IconoCommunities participants report that they regularly wear an average of 49% of their wardrobe, rarely wear an average of 32% and never wear an average of 18%. We dug deeper to find out why they’re hanging on to apparel that’s rarely or never worn. Their reasons: They’re hoping to fit into the smaller sizes again, they might need to wear the larger sizes someday, it might come back in style, it’s “still good,” it has sentimental value, it’s “too expensive to just throw out,” it’s for the rare formal event, and “I don’t know why.”
Any way you cut it, Americans are leaving much of their closets in the dust. And whether they’re keeping their under-worn apparel for financial or emotional reasons, those items are likely creating a drag on their space, personal style or even self-image. Not to mention a drag on charitable giving and the many people who could use the clothes.
Labels and retailers are missing opportunities to create relevance for consumers. Brands could position themselves as partners by offering a resell platform, a donation program, upcycling classes or an app that would find sartorial synergy between a customer’s closet and a retailer’s catalog. The Mindful Matters era is upon us, and there’s no better time to encourage consumers to reimagine (hoarded) trash as treasure, whether for themselves or someone else.
