In Sweden, we buy an average of 14 kilos of new clothes and textiles per person and year and 8 kilos are thrown away every year.

Sales of clothing and footwear online increased by 32 percent through August this year, compared with the same period last year.

It shows figures from Swedish Trade.

Although much is being done to make the clothing industry more sustainable, there is still a lot to do, according to the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation's director general Karin Lexén.

- A fundamental problem is that we are in the middle of a climate crisis.

We need to reduce our consumption of clothing and the clothing industry needs to contribute to this.

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How much are 14 kilos of clothes really?

Greenwashing

Karin Lexén sees a number of examples of so-called greenwashing in the clothing industry, both in Sweden and globally.

That is, companies pretend to be more sustainable than they are, or that the products are more environmentally friendly than they are.

- For example, it could be that you say that something is organic, even though it is in fact part of the material that is organic cotton and so you do not have the entire production chain, where some processes have nothing at all with certified organic being that do, says Karin Lexén. 

"Choose recycling over recycling"

The best thing a customer can do to consume more sustainably is to recycle, according to the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.

- So buy second hand, rent or borrow.

Because we see that it consumes a lot of energy and a lot of climate emissions also occur when recycling garments.

You only win maybe 5-10 percent with recycling, compared to new production, says Karin Lexén.

In addition to the climate issue, there are other important environmental issues such as environmental toxins and water supply, which according to the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation should be aware of when buying clothes. 

- Textile production uses a lot of water.

Just the production of a pair of jeans requires 6000 liters of water and it consumes a lot of energy and a lot of chemicals.

This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed.