Levi’s, the leader in denim, has released its latest research on apparel consumption in Australia.

The research was commissioned to coincide with the launch of its Buy Better, Wear Longer campaign, a global initiative to raise awareness about the shared responsibility on the environmental impacts of apparel production and consumption.

The key findings are as follows:

Half of our wardrobes are untouched

• Close to one in three (30.1 per cent) Australians currently own between 50-150 pieces of clothing items. Of all the clothes we own, only half (55 per cent) of them are being worn regularly.
• Of all the new clothes purchased in the past 12 months, more than half (54 per cent) acknowledge that about 10 per cent is only worn once, or don’t end up being worn.

Fast Fashion isn’t slowing down

• Globally, it is estimated that more than half of what fast fashion has produced is disposed of in under one year.
• Collectively, if we wear our clothes twice as long, we can reduce our environmental impact by 44 per cent.
• More than half (56.8 per cent) of Australians agree that compared to ten years ago, our clothes don’t last as long because of poor quality production and fabric. However nearly one in two (44.9 per cent) Australians agree that they will still purchase clothes that are cheaper in value despite their shorter lifespan.

That’s very last season

• Australians aren’t getting long-term use out of their clothes due to the items being out of season and unfashionable, or that they are bored of wearing them (45.3 per cent).
• Globally, 92 million tons of clothes are thrown away every year.
• When asked about what they do to the clothes they don’t wear anymore, the majority (70.4 per cent) of Australians opt for a trip to the local charity bins. More than one in four (28.1 per cent) Australians simply leave unwanted clothes in their wardrobe and do nothing about it.

When shopping for denim, material and sustainability are the least of our worries

• One pair of jeans can use up to 3,781 liters of water in its lifetime.
• When purchasing denim, the majority (84.1 per cent) of Australians agree finding the right fit and style is the most important factor, followed by the price and value (64.8 per cent).
• Only a small percentage (8.9 per cent) of Australians consider the material of denim a very important factor. Close to two thirds (65 per cent) of respondents think sustainability is the least important when purchasing denim jeans.
• The majority (71.1 per cent) of surveyed Australians don’t know and are unsure of how to properly care for denim.

Clare Press, Sustainability Expert and Founder of The Wardrobe Crisis said, “we are buying more clothes than ever before, wearing them less, and dispatching them to landfill in crazy volumes. The first step to solving fashion waste is to reconnect with our clothes.”

“While brands need to do the work to make their products sustainable, Aussies can be part of the solution by buying mindfully. When you buy clothes you’ve really thought about and love, you are more likely to care for them and wear them longer.”

It’s been estimated, the global fashion industry creates 20 per cent of the planet’s total water pollution, and 10 per cent of humanity’s carbon emissions.

By 2030 the global clothing and textile industry is expected to use 50 per cent more water, emit 63 per cent more GHGs and produce 62 per cent more waste than it did in 2015.

Levi’s is not exempt from the problem and as a leader in denim and fashion, it is on a mission to change the clothing industry – for good.

Buy Better, Wear Longer encapsulates Levi’s ongoing efforts to drive more sustainable production practices, and its enduring investment into material and technology innovations such as Cottonized Hemp and Organic Cotton.

Through the scaling of Water<Less manufacturing, built on a series of finishing techniques and water recycling guidelines that have saved more than 4 billion litres of water, Levi’s is also reducing its own natural resource footprint and delivering a more planet-friendly apparel industry.

76 per cent of all Levi Strauss & Co. products, and 70 per cent of all Levi’s bottoms and Trucker Jackets, are now made using open-sourced Water<Less technology, resulting in the recycling of nearly 10 billion litres of water.

75 per cent of the cotton used also now comes for more sustainable sources and 65 per cent of Levi’s products are currently made in factories that run its Worker Well-being programs.

Levi’s also focuses on the innovations that make its jeans and all other products as durable as ever—materials crafted with thoughtful quality from sourcing to finishing, that help create a bond between the consumer and products they buy.

Jennifer Sey, Brand President at Levi Strauss & Co. said, “ultimately, Levi’s denim is meant to be worn for generations, not seasons. So we are also using this campaign to encourage consumers to be more intentional about their apparel choices: to wear each item longer, for example, to buy SecondHand, or to use our in-store Tailor Shops to extend the life of their garments.”

Paul Dillinger, VP Product Innovation at Levi Strauss & Co said, “you experience the difference when you have jeans that have been through it all with you, or when you go thrifting for second hand jeans. A pair of Levi’s holds up better, and holds its value longer. It’s both a physical and an emotional durability that we strive to offer consumers by investing in quality and designing for lasting value.”

The Buy Better, Wear Longer campaign will be rolled out on all Levi’s platforms globally in an effort to share this message far and wide, and as a reminder that a sustainable future is one where companies and consumers around the world come together to rethink fashion.

As part of the campaign, Levi’s will launch a multi-platform global ad campaign featuring an inspiring group of changemakers — Jaden Smith, Xiye Bastida, Melati Wijsen, Xiuhtezcatl, Emma Chamberlain and Marcus Rashford MBE — that fuses Levi’s longstanding commitment to making quality clothing that can last for generations with the passion of six icons and activists working on issues critical to the future of our planet.