5 → 3
Preloved really can replace new
WRAP found that for every five preloved clothing items bought, about three new purchases are displaced on average.
Source: WRAP, Displacement Rates Untangled (2025)Small swaps. Proper impact.
What if we all chose preloved a little more often?
You do not have to rebuild your whole life around sustainability. One charity-shop find, one repaired favourite, one thing passed on instead of binned. Repeated across millions of people, tiny choices stop being tiny.
The one-swap experiment
If 100 people swapped one new clothing purchase for preloved…
Using WRAP’s 2025 UK weighted-average resale displacement rate of 64.6%, that could mean:
65
new clothing purchases potentially displaced
Illustrative scenario. “Displaced” means the preloved purchase replaces a purchase that would otherwise have been new.
The good stuff
Preloved by the numbers
30kg+
A pair of jeans can make a big difference
Buying a second-hand pair of jeans online instead of a brand-new pair could save more than 30kg CO₂e.
Source: WRAP, Displacement Rates Untangled (2025)Up to 20%
Wear it longer
Extending the active life of clothing by nine months can reduce its carbon, water and waste footprints by up to 20%.
Source: WRAP, clothing durability research35 items
Too much still goes in the bin
The average person in the UK throws around 35 unwanted textile items into general waste each year.
Source: WRAP, Textiles Market Situation Report 202449%
Nearly half of used textiles
Around 49% of used textiles in the UK are disposed of in general waste rather than being kept in circulation.
Source: WRAP, Textiles Market Situation Report 20241.6bn
There is treasure already sitting at home
WRAP estimates around 1.6 billion items of clothing are going unworn in UK wardrobes and could be given another life.
Source: WRAPCharity shops keep useful things useful
The Charity Retail Association says charity shops reuse or recycle more than 90% of donated clothing and books, and 85% of electrical goods. That means your clear-out can become somebody else’s find instead of somebody else’s waste problem.
Read the Charity Retail Association sourceAnd the impact is bigger than carbon
Buying from charity shops can support charitable causes, local high streets, volunteering and more affordable access to everyday goods. Sustainability is not only about what we avoid. It is also about what we keep circulating in our communities.
A good purchase can have more than one life and more than one beneficiary.
The simplest rule
Before buying new, give preloved a look.
✓
Use what you already own for longer.
✓
Repair it if a small fix gives it another chapter.
✓
Donate or resell good things you no longer use.
✓
Check charity shops, vintage and reuse stores before buying new.
Preloved is not a licence to buy endlessly. The lowest-impact item is often the one you already have. But when you do need something, second-hand is a very good place to start.
Ready to make one swap?
Find charity shops, vintage stores and other places keeping useful things in circulation near you.
Find preloved near me