// Online fashion retailer Patatam found that 18% of 1000 Brits feel guilty over buying new clothes

// 64% are more likely to buy secondhand retail

New research has found that Brits are withdrawing from purchasing new clothing thanks to growing concerns over the impact on the environment.

Online retailer Patatam, which specialises in secondhand fashion, found that “fast fashion guilt” is affecting consumers’ purchasing behaviours.

The French company found that 18 per cent of 1000 adults in the UK now feel guilty about buying new clothes, with 64 per cent of them more likely to buy second-hand clothing.

In June, the government rejected calls to force retailers to tackle the environmental impact of fast fashion.

Meanwhile, Patatam’s business model focuses on reselling clothing items to reduce the wave of fast fashion.

It claims to be Britain’s “biggest online preloved fashion retailer”.

“Consumers are now considering the clothes in their wardrobe in a whole new way and thinking about not only the manufacturing process and the environmental and social impact of this, but what happens when they are done wearing items,” Patatam managing director Eric Gagnaire said.

“We have seen an increase in shoppers wanting their clothes to have a second lease of life – whether they sell, donate or upcycle them – rather than just sending them to landfill.”

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