Cost Per Wear Labels Cut Fast Fashion Buys: Study
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- The fashion industry accounts for up to 8% of global carbon emissions, generates water pollution from textile dyeing, and produces millions of tonnes of textile waste annually, making it one of the largest contributors to environmental harm.
- Research conducted with Lucia Reisch at Cambridge Judge Business School found that when participants were shown cost-per-wear figures for garments, they were more likely to choose the more expensive, high-quality option over a cheaper alternative.
- The effect strengthened when the information was shown for everyday wear rather than occasion wear, when shoppers could compare cost-per-wear between options, and when the data was labeled as certified by an independent third party — which outperformed a brand's own durability claim.
- The study illustrated the concept with a worked example: a £50 high-quality shirt worn weekly costs 25 pence per wear over four years, versus a £20 lower-quality shirt at 40 pence per wear that lasts only one year.
- Standardized fabric-testing methods that measure durability by abrasion cycles already exist and could be adapted to let retailers include cost-per-wear labels alongside purchase prices, according to the researcher.
- The author flagged limitations: cost per wear captures only durability, not ethical or ecological factors like worker conditions or fiber type, and many shoppers cannot afford higher upfront prices even when long-term value is clear.
Why it matters: The fashion industry produces up to 8% of the world's carbon emissions and millions of tonnes of textile waste each year, and this research shows a simple, low-cost labeling intervention could redirect consumer spending toward durable garments — potentially at the expense of fast fashion brands, which the author notes have less incentive to adopt such labels.
