Our fashionable wardrobes are being neglected because we’re too lazy to take items to the dry cleaners, according to new research.
Nearly 33 million items of clothing are clogging up women’s wardrobes around the UK due to laziness and the inconvenience of taking clothes to the dry cleaners, a survey of 1,000 women’s cleaning habits has revealed.
Research by Miele Professional found that more than eight in 10 women avoid going to the dry cleaners, and more than four in ten have also admitted that they never take their clothing to be dry cleaned.
The top reasons for avoiding the trip include the inconvenience of taking clothes to the dry cleaners – but almost one in six women admit that it’s laziness that means they don’t get their dry-clean only clothes cleaned. However, the worry that items might be ruined during the process, and not liking the smell of dry cleaned clothes also puts off 12% of women. The survey also found that women are shunning dry cleaning due to environmental concerns, with reasons for avoiding it including “it uses nasty chemicals” and “because it’s bad for the environment”.
Six in 10 women who own dry clean only items admit they have never had these professionally cleaned. The top three items that women avoid cleaning are coats, dresses, and leather jackets, while a tenth of women have never had their wedding dress cleaned. Treasured possessions such as vintage dresses and jackets, expensive UGG boots and designer leather handbags are also remaining unworn in cupboards.
Two thirds of respondents agreed that they would be interested in giving their glad rags a new lease of life by testing an alternative. An environmentally friendly option – wet cleaning – is a way of professionally cleaning items that is much safer to use, using water instead of dry cleaning chemicals to clean.
Les Marshall, Sales & Marketing Director at Miele Professional comments: “Women are clearly concerned about having their items professionally cleaned using solvents. It’s such a shame to hear that millions of beautiful gowns and expensive handbags are at risk of being left unused at the back of Britain’s wardrobes because of this.
“The good news is that there is an alternative. Miele Professional WetCare, which uses water and is free of chemicals, is available all over the country, and means that even items that women believe to be ‘un-cleanable’ including UGG boots and vintage dresses can be brought back to their former glory and ready to use again.”
Tagged in fashion