Baby's closets are jam-packed with clothes
The average child under one has a bulging wardrobe packed with 56 different outfits – while one in eight now owns more than 100 garments, revealed the study of 1,000 parents, conducted by M&S.
A typical tot’s wardrobe is now worth an eye-watering £327 and not all items are actually worn. Two thirds of parents were given items they would ‘never dress their baby in’, while three in five admit throwing baby clothes in the bin as they didn’t like them or they weren’t practical.
M&S spokesperson Mark Sumner said: “This survey shows that too many baby clothes are going to waste. We want to give old and unused clothes a future and therefore encourage all parents to shwop unwanted baby clothes rather than throw them in the bin so they can be reused, recycled or resold by Oxfam.”
Not everyone has the same taste, in fact one woman’s rubbish is another woman’s gold, so, whilst it may not work its way into your child’s wardrobe, there’s probably someone out there who...
Oxfam spokesperson Sarah Farquhar said: "Baby clothes, especially unused baby clothes, retain a high value and therefore can be sold through our stores and find very grateful owners whilst at the same time raising crucial funds to support some of the world's poorest people."
The poll found that parents are blaming celebrity yummy mummies and dapper dads for the surge in spending on children’s clothing. Two in five said seeing pictures of well-dressed celebrity tots including Harper Beckham and Suri Cruise piles on the pressure for them to kit out their own kids in designer fashions.
One in 50 families splashed out on single baby items costing £100 or more, including designer coats and cashmere cardigans and, despite the trend for ‘make do and mend’, two in five parents refused hand me downs and insisted their little one wore brand new togs.
Mum and fashion stylist Anna Foster said: “Even if you are given something you wouldn’t allow your child to wear in public, there’s absolutely no excuse to put it in the bin.
“Not everyone has the same taste, in fact one woman’s rubbish is another woman’s gold, so, whilst it may not work its way into your child’s wardrobe, there’s probably someone out there who would love to dress their little one in it. Through Shwopping we can make sure nothing ends up in landfill and that every unwanted item goes onto to have a future life,” she said.
The trend to dress babies as ‘mini mes’ is driving parents to spend more money on clothing youngsters than clothing themselves. A third of parents polled admitted splashing out in excess of £100 on outfits for the baby before it was born, compared to just a quarter who spend the same on dressing themselves during the pregnancy.
However despite forking out huge amounts on their offspring looking fashionable, kid’s clothes have a much poorer ‘cost per wear’ than adult’s wardrobes. The study shows, on average, babies wear an item just 12 times, only half of the 23 times the average mum dons each garment in her wardrobe.
Overall, three quarters of a baby’s clothes are bough as gifts, partially explaining why the rate of clothes being thrown away is so high.
Shwopping
Shwopping is Marks & Spencer’s revolutionary clothes recycling initiative where customers can donate any item of clothing, of any brand, to be re-used, resold or recycled by charity partner Oxfam. Launched by Plan A ambassador Joanna Lumley, M&S believes Shwopping can revolutionise clothes shopping by asking consumers to adopt a ‘buy one, give one’ mentality and encourage greater sustainability on the high street.
The campaign aims to put an end to the one billion items currently ending up in landfill every year. All M&S clothing stores now accept used and unwanted items of clothing from any brand, all year round. The ultimate aim for M&S is to collect 350 million items a year – recycling as many clothes as it sells.
For further information on Shwopping visit www.marksandspencer.com/shwopping
How much do you spend on your baby’s wardrobe? Tell us in the comments below or tweet us @FemaleFirst_UK
FemaleFirst