Brits throw away £2.2bn of homeware each year, study finds

Hammonds, a home furnishings retailer, has recently shared research revealing Britons throw away £2.2 billion of homeware each year. Canvassing 2,000 UK consumers in June 2022, the body aimed to gain a better understanding of current patterns within British homes and how sustainable new homewares are.

Crediting the growing number of ‘fast’ homeware trends, the study suggests Brits throw away up to 69.9 million homeware items each year, averaging to 12 items per person.

‘Fast’ trends in home furnishings have a short cycle, resulting in consumers buying and ultimately disposing of items in a short time frame.

Despite being more sustainably minded, it was younger generations who expressed a keen interest in ‘fast’, internet-driven trends, with 36 per cent seeing trend-following as important. Smaller items such as candles and cushions, which the study pins as the most commonly-thrown away items, are more frequently purchased by this group, with 17 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds buying cushions at least once a year, compared to 28 per cent of 65+ year olds.

Promisingly, almost half (46 per cent) of respondents claimed they donate homeware they no longer want to charity, with 14 per cent opting to recycle items, and 13 per cent gifting them.

However, nine per cent admitted to throwing away unwanted furnishings. From these findings, the body was able to calculate a £2.17 billion value for all homeware disposed of in the UK each year.

The most common items to be thrown away are candles and medium sized throws, with around eight million of each being disposed of each year. This is followed by plants, 7.7 million of which are binned per year, and bed linen, which sees 7.6 million sets going to landfill.

Other common items being discarded in high numbers include cushion covers, vases, lamps and fairy lights. A high value of full length mirrors is lost each year, with around £300 million worth being thrown away each year. Similarly, Brits witness £670 million worth of rugs going into landfill in the same time frame.

Despite these figures, the study revealed consumers are conscious of the environmental impact their buying patterns may be having, with 41 per cent believing buying low-cost homeware is as bad for the environment as buying fast fashion.

However, only 25 per cent research the sustainability of homeware retailers before buying from them, with a similar sized group (26 per cent) considering the sustainability of items before purchasing them.

Similarly, 34 per cent stated they do not look for furnishings made by independent makers, with 58 per cent clarifying this is a low priority for them. 54 per cent of respondents also clarified that they see buying second-hand as a low priority, as 30 per cent took this further saying they’d prefer not to buy second hand at all.

This may correlate to another finding, which states 66 per cent of consumers are looking for high-quality and durable items. Additionally, 56 per cent prioritise items that work well with their interior styles, with cost being a large factor for 48 per cent.

That such a low number expressed an interest in sustainable or second hand homeware items demonstrates a considerable level of misunderstanding of the secondhand market. The study shows 45 per cent of respondents believe they cannot afford to buy sustainable items, despite an expressed desire to.

This is a particular trend among younger consumers, for whom cost is a much larger consideration, despite the group showing a deeper interest and value in sustainable homeware compared to their seniors.

However, the body emphasises that buying sustainably can be cost-effective over a longer period of time, as sustainable items tend to be of higher quality and will last for much longer than cheap, ‘fast’ homeware items. Second hand items, particularly those sourced from charity shops, can be much cheaper than new items, while carrying almost no environmental impact.

Debbie Leigh, Design Manager at sustainable fabrics designer ILIV, commented on the findings: “The textiles industry is one of the largest polluting industries in the world, contributing around 10 per cent of all global carbon emissions and twenty-one billion tonnes of industrial waste. The dyeing and finishing processes used in textile mills account for almost 20 per cent of the global industrial water pollutants found in water supplies.

“According to the 2019 Textiles Market Situation Report conducted by WRAP, approximately 900,000 tonnes of textile waste is sent to landfill or incinerated in the UK each year. With homewares textiles contributing to over 40 per cent of this frightening figure.

The need for change has never been more pressing and thankfully consumers are becoming more aware of the dangers of fast homeware and the effect it has on our environment.”