WoolOn has given us a weekend of fashion, a time to remind ourselves of the importance of making the right choices when it comes to our clothing.

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Globally, wool groups are campaigning against fast fashion and its reliance on synthetic fabrics to quickly turn out new product.

Fast fashion is still dominant, but the writing is on the wall - that era is about to end.

The European Union is currently considering policy to have environmental labelling on all consumer products, including apparel products. This could come into effect as soon as next year in an effort to guide consumers towards choosing the most sustainable products.

In New Zealand, we have the wool mark, often seen on labels.

Recent research shows how often clothes are worn is the most influential factor in determining environmental impacts from clothing. That means each and every one of us has a big part to play.

Wool is a fibre that lasts and can be recycled. But exactly why is garment lifespan important?

The purpose of clothing is to be worn. The more often it is worn over its lifetime, the more completely it fulfils its purpose and the less impact it has on the environment, or on our purse.

A world-first study has calculated the lifetime impacts of a garment per single wear event and found that how long a garment lasts without having to be replaced was the most influential factor determining the positive impact of woollen garments.

The total number of wears was estimated to be 109 for the study. However, if a garment was disposed of after only one season, or 15 uses, this would result in a 5.8- to 6.8-fold increase in environmental impacts and resource use.

Increasing the total number of wears even further to 400, reduced environmental impacts by up to 68 percent, showing substantial improvements are possible through choosing to wear wool.

So, choose wool. It may cost more at the outset, but your clothes will last and it will be worth it in the long run.

To read more about the study, click here

Image Unsplash