This month, government ministers rejected recommendations from parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee to tackle the gargantuan amounts of clothing waste the ‘fast fashion’ industry produces every year. Our purchasing of clothing weighed in at 1,130,000 tonnes in 2016 , an increase of almost 200,000 tonnes since 2012.

According to the report from the Environmental Audit Committee, consumption of new clothing is estimated to be higher in the UK than any other European country, 26.7kg per capita. This compares to 16.7kg in Germany, 16kg in Denmark, 14.5kg in Italy, 14kg in the Netherlands and 12.6kg in Sweden.

However UK government ministers voted down proposals to introduce a 1p levy on garments produced for sale in the UK, effectively curtailing action on the fast fashion industry. The levy could have raised around £35million for investment in clothing collection points, sorting and recycling.

Our favourite brands like Boohoo, Missguided, Pretty Little Thing and Primark dominate the UK fast fashion clothing market, but they also play a major role in contributing to huge water consumption, pollution and huge amounts of waste which all contribute towards the climate emergency. Our attitude to clothes is shocking, with the concept of the ‘outfit repeater’, where young women consider garments worn once or twice to be old.