05/01/2007

By the time the January sales are over, Brits will have spent £580 million* on clothes that they will never wear.

New research by Churchill home insurance reveals that 23 million adults will visit the sales this January and will purchase clothes that they will never put on their backs. This means they will each spend an average £25 on unwanted garments.

The research shows that the worst culprits are men. Almost ten million (43%) will visit the sales buying two items of clothing that they won’t use - at a cost of almost £40. Collectively, this means they will spend over £350 million on tops, trousers and coats that will remain on the hangers they came on.

In contrast, women prove they are more prudent with their pennies.  Around 13 million (54%) will hit the high street buying just one item of clothing that they won’t wear – at a cost of £15. Collectively, this means that women will spend £230 million in the sales on clothes that will never be worn.

The research shows that the average woman already has nine items in their wardrobe they haven’t worn in the last year. Men are almost as bad with eight garments clogging up their drawers and cupboards.

There are a number of reasons for the unworn clothes trend - the main one given for not wearing sales buys is simply having nothing at home that matches them.

Men are more likely than women to buy something that will go out of fashion quickly (11%), is the wrong colour (6%) or is just too big (6%). One in ten men (13%) admit to buying items that are high-fashion as opposed to suiting them.

In contrast, women are more likely to buy a garment that is too small (12%) or that they bought smaller in the hope of dieting into them but failed (4%). Nearly a fifth of women (18%) have bought high-fashion garments that they know look better on the hanger than they do in person.

Psychotherapist Christine Webber commented:

“The January sales tend to cause a rush of blood to the head. And when that happens we seem to be immune to our normal patterns of rational thinking.

“There is something in all of us that loves to beat the system. And when we manage to buy – for example - a piece of designer clothing at a knockdown price, we feel that we’ve done just that. It’s a kind of guilty triumph.

“Unfortunately, sometimes when we get the purchase home and look at it in the cold light of our own bedroom mirror the love affair with our bargain is all too frequently over.”

The top five most unworn items for men and women are revealed:

Top five most unworn sales items for women

1. Shirts / blouses
2. Skirts
3. Trousers
4. Coats
5. Jumpers

Top five most unworn sales items for men

1. 1. Shirts / t-shirts
2. 2. Jumpers
3. Shoes
4. Coats
5. Underwear
    

Abi Clark, spokesperson for Churchill home insurance, said:

“The research shows that many householders are guilty of buying clothes in the sales that they will never wear. However, year-on-year these purchases can really add up in value and many would be surprised if they were to calculate how much they spend in this way over time.”

The research also reveals the regions that spend the most on unwanted clothes:

Regions that spend the most on unwanted clothes

1. South west
2. Wales
3. London
4. North west
5. Midlands

Online survey carried out by Churchill home insurance with 2,652 UK inhabitants, December 2006.

* Figures are based on unwanted clothing sales spend during January 2006.

For more information please contact:

Abi Clark
Churchill Insurance
020 8313 5830
pressoffice@churchill.com