Researcher creates a formula to tell if you own too much clothes: Most people find that they do

Forever 21, H&M, Zara, and the newest powerhouse Shein, there are endless opportunities to renew your wardrobe. People are buying and storing more clothes than ever before.

Social media has fueled this trend, with platforms like TikTok flooded with “haul” videos in which users proudly show off the large amounts of clothing and accessories they purchased in their latest online shopping spree.

Many of these purchases are made in just seconds with a few clicks. The real question, however, is this: How many times would you actually have to wear each garment to offset the carbon emissions generated by its production?

The impact of fast fashion

According to reports from the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Parliament, buying a single piece of clothing has a much greater environmental impact than most people realize. On average, every European Union citizen generates about 783 pounds (355 kg), the equivalent of driving 895 miles, of CO₂ emissions each year solely from purchasing and consuming textiles. The average American produces the equivalent of driving almost 3000 miles from their clothing purchases alone. Overall, the fashion industry is responsible for roughly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The way we live, shop, and dress has changed dramatically over the past several decades. Sixty years ago, the average person owned around 40 garments. Today, studies suggest that the typical wardrobe contains approximately 199 items, with between 25% and 50% of them rarely, if ever, being worn. As a result, the carbon footprint of producing those clothes is almost never offset through regular use.

Recent research aligned with the goals of the European Green Deal, which aims to cut emissions in half by 2030, suggests that a practical, sustainable four-season wardrobe should contain between 74 and 85 garments in total, excluding underwear and socks. According to these studies, that is enough to create a wide variety of outfits while still wearing each item often enough to meet the EU’s recommended usage targets.

Minimum number of wears to offset a garment’s carbon footprint

To encourage more responsible fashion consumption, the European Union has published guidelines on the minimum number of times clothing should be worn to offset the carbon footprint associated with its production.

Shirts and blouses should be worn at least 40 times. T-shirts should be worn a minimum of 45 times. Pants, dresses, and skirts should each be worn at least 70 times. Sweaters and sweatshirts should reach at least 85 wears. Coats and jackets have the highest target, requiring at least 100 wears.

These benchmarks account for the environmental costs of manufacturing, including raw materials, water pollution, carbon emissions, and production waste.

Dr. Kuźmycz’s formula

Experts such as Dr. Alicja Kuźmycz of RMIT University in Australia have proposed a straightforward way to estimate how many years it would take to offset the carbon footprint of the clothes in your closet.

The formula is simple. Multiply the number of garments you own by the EU’s recommended minimum number of wears for that type of clothing. Then divide that total by the number of times you wear that item each year. The result is an estimate of the number of years required to offset its production footprint.

In her research, Dr. Kuźmycz found that the average participant owned 23 dresses. Based on the EU recommendation, each dress should be worn 70 times. Suppose someone wears a dress once a week. That equals 52 wears per year.

The calculation would look like this:

23 dresses × 70 recommended wears = 1,610 total wears

1,610 ÷ 52 wears per year = 30.96 years

Rounded up, it would take about 31 years to wear those 23 dresses enough times to offset the carbon emissions generated by making them.

Dr. Kuźmycz concludes that there is no perfect or universal number of garments everyone should own. The true measure of a sustainable wardrobe is not how many clothes you have, but the mathematical relationship between the size of your wardrobe and how often you actually wear what you own.

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